


Roads Traveled

by RedVoid



Series: Evil Works From Within - or how to torment nice characters for no other reason than your own sick amusement [1]
Category: The Evil Within (Video Game)
Genre: Adult Content (Not Explicit), Canonical Character Death, F/M, Human Experimentation, Psychological Drama, Unresolved Emotional Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-24
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2018-04-05 23:14:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 35
Words: 123,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4198689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedVoid/pseuds/RedVoid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sofia had helped to create STEM. At first because she believed the machine would revolutionize science, then because she saw in it a chance to cure her patients. Finally, it was because she saw herself without choice. Now she'll have the chance to experience STEM first-hand. She'll feel in her skin the horrors it can bring to live as she fights to save Leslie and hopefully herself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello :)
> 
> This fic is OC-centric and it will show the development of a relationship between the OC and our favourite villain - well, there's Wesker so... second favourite in my case (sorry, Ruvik) - but it will NOT start on the game. As a matter of fact, most of this fic (if not all of it) will happen on years prior to the murder spree in Beacon Mental Hospital. I want to focus on the hospital, on the creation of STEM, on Leslie, on Ruben-Ruvik, on Jimenez and Mobius and, of course, on the development of my OC's personality and career.
> 
> So... if you're strictly looking for a 'girl ends up inside STEM and Ruvik obssesses over her' kind of fic, I'm sorry but this is not it. However, if you're willing to give this a chance to grow, welcome aboard! I really hope to write an interesting and believable story, while keeping the characters IC but working with a very different take on their development.
> 
> It's a difficult project I have in mind, so I really hope that you'll help me out by dropping reviews/PMs with critiques, suggestions, pointers and corrections (English is not my first language, so mistakes might happen).
> 
> That said, I really hope you all enjoy this! :D
> 
> Disclaimer (valid for all chapters): I don't own The Evil Within or its characters. Only the plot and OCs belong to me.
> 
> Weep not for roads untraveled  
> Weep not for sights unseen  
> May your love never end  
> And if you need a friend  
> There's a seat here alongside me
> 
> Roads Untraveled - Linkin Park

How the hell had she come to this?

* * *

Going to Medical School had never been Sofia Prieto's dream for life; she had wanted to be writer. A work that required lots of research and - she believed - close to zero interaction to people.

However, both of her parents were doctors - cardiothoracic surgeons to be exact - and they didn't give her much of a choice in the matter.

* * *

"You'll learn to enjoy it, Sofia. Surgeries are an acquired taste."

"When you first hold a patient's heart in your hands… the feeling is indescribable. You're practically their god."

* * *

Well, Sofia had finished Medical School and had the chance to scrub in some of her parents' surgeries – most times off records, of course. She hadn't learned how to enjoy it, and she sure as hell was able to describe the feeling of holding someone's heart in her hands.

It was warm, red, slippery and very,  _very_ unpleasant.

One of the few things worse than that was talking to the patients. And how they loved talking! They would talk of everything about their lives, describe to the most extreme details how awful was the end of their relationship or the loss of a loved one, but, for the life of them, they couldn't describe how exactly was the dman pain in their chest or remember the meds they took.

When she began her residency in Cardiothoracic Surgery, as her parents wanted, Sofia thought things were about to get better. As much as she disliked people, Sofia was a perfectionist and never backed away from a challenge, so participating in surgeries could actually be fun for her. And, the most important thing: people don't talk when they're under anaesthesia, so she would be mostly free of that annoying chit-chat that always accompanied the anamneses.

How wrong she was…

With surgeries, came things much, much worse: talking with the patients'  _families and friends_.

* * *

"Why does he have to go in surgery?"

_Because he is composed by 200 pounds of fat, eats like a pig, spends all of his day sitting on a couch and now one of his coronary arteries is so narrow that not even one erythrocyte can pass through it._

* * *

"Is she going to be alright? Promise me, she is going to be alright."

_Do I look like God to you?_

* * *

"What do you mean he is dead?! What have you done?!"

 _Spent the last 9 hour inside an OR, doing the possible and impossible to save his life, you ungrateful prick. It's not my fault there was nothing I_ _**could** _ _do._

* * *

Sofia's residency program lasted less than 3 months before she quit and delved into the one thing of her Medical education that she enjoyed.

The academic life.

Sofia lost count of how many hours she spent reading about the new researches going on all around the world. Now  **that**  was some Medicine that she could enjoy practicing. People would be replaced by non-speaking and adorable mice; her crazy working schedule that barely allowed her 5 hours of sleep per night would now allow her frequent good nights of rest; and the best of all: no more patients dying on her hands.

Ironically, the area of research that most interested Sofia was the one involving the very thing that made humans talk and complain: the central nervous system. Despite disliking almost all of her time in Med School, Sofia's grades had been the top of her class – courtesy of her parents being complete slave-drivers – so it wasn't long before she got a spot in the Laboratory of Bioneurology in the same hospital her parents worked. It was a low-paying function with very little recognition from most of the doctors, but she didn't mind. In Sofia's opinion, research was the true way to get close to God; instead of holding the life of  _one_  person in her hands, she could now work on medicines that would save millions at a time.

However, her parents didn't agree with her. Be it at the hospital or at home, they would pester and pressure her into getting back into the surgery program. Despite having now a job she truly enjoyed, Sofia's life was still descending in a hellish nightmare.

She wanted out.

So, she started sending her résumé to any laboratory outside of the city she could find. She focused on brain-research, but, at that point of the game, she would take any offer that would take her out of her parents' house.

Needless to say, Sofia was elated when she received a job offer in Krimson City, a metropolis located 306km away from her hometown.

And it was not just any offer. It came from none other than Marcelo Jimenez,  **the**  researcher of authority when it came to the workings of the mind. Sofia remembered how reading his theories about the STEM system – the possibility of linking minds – made chills run down her spine. The good sort of chills.

However, the offer was not perfect.

Yes, she would be allowed the chance to contribute to Dr Jimenez's revolutionary research, however, since he was also the director of a hospital – Beacon Mental Hospital, for the psychologically ill – it was required of her to initiate a residency in Psychiatrics and work with the hospital's patients. Sofia, the doctor who disliked people, would have to become a psychiatrist.

 _Well,_ Sofia thought as she wrote her reply,  _you can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs._

* * *

Sofia first met Jimenez in the corridors of Beacon Mental Hospital. The man was walking with one of his patients, holding his arms softly as he guided him through the corridor. The patient was an albino boy that seemed unable to raise his eyes from the ground.

"Dr Jimenez." Sofia called as she marched towards him. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I've been a fan of your work for years now."

Jimenez raised his eyes from his patient with a polite smile on his lips. "Ah, yes, thank you, Miss…?"

"Sofia Prieto. I'm the ne-"

"The new resident, of course." The man let out in sudden realization, offering one of his hands for her to shake. "I was very pleased by your acc-"

His words were interrupted by a pained whimper coming from the boy's mouth, followed by tortured whispers. "Pleased… pleased… pleased…"

"I'm sorry, Doctor Prieto. Leslie here has to follow s strict schedule, else he gets very… restless. If you don't mind following me, I can answer the questions you're sure to have."

Sofia was quick to fall into step with him. "Sure. Sorry for interrupting you."

"Well, as I was saying, I'm very glad you accepted my job offer. Your curriculum shows you're a very promising researcher."

"Thank you, doctor. However…"

"Yes?"

"Despite my grades in college I really don't have much experience with Psychiatry. So I can't help but ask: why did you hire me to become one of your psychiatrists?"

"Well, I'll be frank with you." Jimenez began. "Usually, I wouldn't hire someone as inexperienced as you, however, lately my research has been going through an amazing progress and I am in dire need of a helping hand. A helping hand that hasn't yet been ruined by all of our… rules. I need someone that can understand the importance of my research and the possible need of, maybe, ignoring some of Medicine's limited protocols."

Sofia blinked, not really sure what he meant.

"You think you can do that, Sofia?"

However, at that moment, she was not about to give up that job for nothing in the world.

"Count on me, Dr Jimenez."

* * *

Sofia had to break more eggs than she expected.

Helping Jimenez in his research was everything she expected and more. Currently, they were working on stabilizing a STEM system with mice. It was astoundingly difficult to successfully create a bond between the adorable rodents' brains without damaging them beyond repair, but she was sure that, with Jimenez's tutorage, it wouldn't take long to make it. To every problem that appeared, the Doctor was quick to come with an answer or a way to contour it, as if he had already seem that problem before. Thanks to him, in less than three months, they already had more than enough material to publish a complete article about their progress in the development of the STEM system.

However, her mandatory residence was harder than she thought.

The adorable mice she interacted with in the lab were replace by very crazy patients and - in her opinion - an even crazier psychiatrist that she had to follow around like a mute puppy during his interviews with the patients. His name was Antoni Márquez and he was every bit the slave driver her parents were.

The man had Sofia by his side every second of his working hours, claiming that, since she didn't go through a Psychiatry internship as she was supposed to – she needed as much training as she could get if she ever wanted to be a half-decent psychiatrist. Márquez was right, but the problem was: Sofia  **didn't**  want to be a psychiatrist. She wanted to be a scientist. Purely and simply.

But, since there was no way around it, Sofia held her tongue and complied to his demands with a forced smile on her lips. Demands that obliged her once-intended afternoons in the laboratories for work in the Psychiatric ward. The only time she had to contribute to the STEM research was the night time; she lost count of how many times the bed in the small apartment she was renting was replaced by the couch in the Doctors' Lounge.

Still, Sofia got to work with the genius that was Marcelo Jimenez and she didn't have her parents nagging her at every second of the day anymore, so she considered herself lucky.

That ended on the end of her first year in the hospital, when Antoni Márquez called in sick and told her to tend to his patients. On her own.

* * *

The first patients weren't really such a bother to Sofia. Strangely, she found that spending two hours locked in a room talking with a mild schizophrenic, an anorexic and a depressed person much more interesting and less nerve grating than talking to a bunch of "normal" people. At least, when those people talked about their everyday problems, they were talking about actual diseases, and not about how annoying it is to have such a lazy husband, or how their teenage children are always worrying them. And, truth be told, it was much more interesting to listen to someone talk about a huge, world-wide conspiracy to kill all of the mosquitoes of the world than to listen to the last episode of some dumb-ass show of rich girls wasting money.

The fourth and last session of the day began at 4pm and was the one Sofia was more worried about.

And she had reason to. The patient she was about to visit suffered from paranoid psychosis and was known to get extremely aggressive when he felt cornered; he had to be treated with infinite tact and she did not feel ready for it. The fact that he was almost two metres tall and 90kg didn't help to ease her worries in the slightest.

* * *

Two male nurses stood with Sofia in front of the door of her last patient's bedroom. They were always there in case something went wrong.

"Hello, Charles." The doctor greeted softly as she knocked on the door of the patient's room. "Do you remember me? I'm Sofia Prieto. I've been coming to see you with Dr Márquez in the last months."

From between the bars of the door's window, she watched Charles pace around the room, waving his arms in random directions before he stopped and whipped his head to look at her. Sofia smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring manner.

"Dr Márquez won't be able to talk to you today, so he has asked me to come and see you instead. Is that alright with you?"

Her answer was a grunting noise and the restart of his pacing.

"Can I come in, Charles? Please?"

At the last word, Charles stopped pacing again and sat down on his bed, though his arms, hands and fingers never once stopped moving. It was her sign to come in.

"I'm opening the door now." Sofia spoke, nodding at the two nurses to stay outside the room.

"How are you feeling today, Charles?" Sofia asked, sitting on the ground in front of him a couple of feet away from his bed. It was a strategy that Dr Márquez had taught her; making herself look smaller made Charles more secure of his own power in the room, reducing the chances of him lashing out.

Charles' eyes remained glued to the floor, unseeing. "Bad. Very bad. I'm not good for your plans."

Sofia sighed internally; it was one of those days that Charles was more in his own, paranoid world than in reality.

"I have no plans for you, Charles." The woman spoke calmly, slowly. "What about you? Do you have plans for yourself?"

His arms stopped mid-air, in a strange snake-like position, before resuming their movements.

"You're trying to fool me. I know you have plans for me; for all of us. I know what you do at night."

"Charles, I spend most of my nights in the 1st basement, playing with cute, little mice. And most of the staff goes home at night; the few that remain here want to sit back in the staff room and take a nice nap. I'm sure no one is planning to do anything with you."

"Liar. I saw it. I saw you taking them to away and they never came back. You want to take me to…" Suddenly, his arms started to move faster and he raised his eyes to Sofia's; they were wide and fearful. "…but I won't let you."

Sofia's own eyes widened in fear when Charles' large frame stood up from the bed, however she remained still, not willing to scare him with sudden movements.

"Sit down, Charles. We don't want the nurses to come in. You remember what happened when they came in last time, don't you?"

The man's arms paused for a moment and he sat down again. When he resumed talking, his arms resumed moving.

"Yes. They made me sleep."

"And it doesn't feel good when they make us sleep, does it?"

"No. I wake up feeling real bad."

"So, you're going to behave so we can have a nice and calm conversation, right?"

The man's eyes flashed with distrust and cunning, but it was too brief for Sofia to see. "…Yes."

"Good. I'm very proud of you, Charles." The doctor spoke softly, before reaching into her white coat's pocket to grab a small, plastic vial with Charles name on it. Inside the vial, there were three different pills. Slowly, she raised the vial so Charles could see it as well. "You remember what these are, Charles?"

"My remedy."

"Exactly. This morning, you took some just like these, no?"

"I did." Charles lied; his morning pills had been spat into the toilet and were now somewhere in Krimson City's sewers.

"Good. I'll stand up now to give you the pills, alright? Then we can continue our nice talk."

Sofia started to stand up, but halted for a moment when Charles suddenly spoke.

"Can I have water?"

The doctor blinked. She had been visiting Charles two-three times a week for the last 6 months, but it was the first time he had ever spoken directly to her. Even when she offered him the drink, he ignored her completely. Maybe, now that Dr Màrquez wasn't with her, Charles felt comfortable enough to talk to her.

"Sure. There is no problem at all." Sofia spoke with a small smile and moved to the small side-table in the room, giving her back to the patient.

As the doctor filled up a paper cup with water, she didn't notice Charles stand up from the bed and walk towards her. Only when she turned around and saw the man's large frame towering over her did she notice her mistake. _Never, under any circumstances, give your back to psychotic patients._

"NUR-"

Before the whole word could leave Sofia's mouth, the paper cup fell to the ground as Charles' large hands encircled her neck and tightened. She felt her trachea collapsing beneath the force of the man's hands and she saw his scared and desperate wide eyes staring at her, but not actually seeing.

Automatically, she raised her hands to grab at Charles' wrists, but it did nothing to lessen the hold he had on her neck and, before she knew it, her vision was starting to blur. Sofia didn't listen to the bedroom's door slamming open, nor did she see the nurses injecting a tranquilizer in his jugular vein, but she did feel her body falling to her knees and the air starting to flow into her lungs once again.

Coughing and holding her sore throat, Sofia raised her eyes to see the nurses carrying Charles to his bed and strapping him on it.

* * *

After the incident, Sofia and the two nurses went to Jimenez's office to report the occurrence. The head-doctor mumbled some words of apologies and gave the nurses the rest of the day off - which it was not much, since the expedient was due in less than two hours anyway – as a dismissal, obviously too occupied to worry about a minor incident like that.

He offered Sofia the rest of the day off as well, though not before telling her how he'd wish to have her assistance in the lab later that night, since they were going to try once again to stabilize the mice with the STEM system.

Never one to back down from anything, Sofia swallowed her need to accept the offered time off and nodded her head in agreement.

And so, Sofia found herself unable to go home and with a couple of hours to kill before it was time for her to go to the lab. However she also didn't want to have to face the questions that would surely come from the rest of the staff if she went to the staff room to relax.

And because of that, the woman started marching to the hospital's small playroom. The room was usually full of patients from a wide range of ages, however, on weekdays, it closed at 16:00. Right now, 16:57, the place would be empty for her.

Or so she thought.

To say that Sofia was surprised at seeing one of the patients inside the playroom past "curfew" would be correct. To say that she was shocked at seeing that said patient was none other than Leslie Withers – one of the few that Dr Jimenez took the time to see personally, at least once a week - would also be correct. To say that she felt her blood pressure rise at seeing him unsupervised would be wrong. She was actually pretty sure an aneurism had formed on one of her brain arteries.

However, Sofia was too exhausted to hunt down the nurses supposed to be watching the boy and chew their ass, so she just took some deep breaths to calm herself down and walked into the room slowly, dropping her body on one of its colourful beanbags.

She watched Leslie pause what he was doing and turn his head in her general direction, thought never raising his eyes from the floor, before resuming his activities.

Silently, Sofia spent some minutes observing Leslie. The boy was in front of her, hunched over a corner of the room, stacking some building blocks while murmuring words to himself. Whenever his stack of blocks fell to the ground, he'd repeat the process.

As Sofia scanned Leslie's figure, she couldn't help but frown in distaste. His hair was shining with excess grease; his clothes were far too large for his thin frame, making her wonder how well they were feeding the boy. Beneath his eyes, she could see dark spots that seemed to be petechia – the boy could be throwing up what little he was fed. His feet were dirty and bare on the cold ground. From the distance she couldn't be sure, but the boy's teeth seemed to be yellow an chipped and she had no doubt that his breath would smell terribly. Maybe she'd just have to push away her exhaustion and deal with Leslie's situation anyway. Whoever the boy's caretakers were, they were doing a deplorable job.

And she would not spare words in telling Dr Jimenez that.

* * *

"So, let me see if I understand the situation: you're accusing my staff of neglecting my patient Leslie Withers and demand new nurses to take care of him." Dr Jimenez spoke calmly, raising his eyes to the scowling woman standing in his office, her right arm around said patient's shoulders. "Is that correct, Dr Prieto?"

"Yes, Dr Jimenez." Sofia answered in a soft voice, as to not startle the boy close to her, who was already trembling and murmuring in anxiousness at having his routine interrupted, by a stranger nonetheless. "Here, look at him-" With that, she softly raised the boy's head. "-see how thin and bony his face is? I don't think he is being these petechia beneath his eyes; clear sign that he may be throwing up regularly and no one is oding anything about it. His teeth- I'm sorry, Leslie, but could you please open your mouth for me?"

The boy didn't comply with the request, but his body started to shake harder. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

"Well, you may not see it now, but believe me when I say his dentition is in very poor condition. His teeth are actually rotting due to the lack of hygiene. And look at his feet: bare and dirty. How easy would it be for him to injury his feet and allow the bacteria inhabitation the grime on it to enter his body?" Then, Sofia took one of his Leslie's hand in hers and raised it, making the boy let out a whimper. "I'm sorry, Leslie, but we're almost done here, I promise. Look at his nails: long and full of dirt. He could hurt hims-"

"I understand your point, doctor." Dr Jimenez interrupted in a calm voice. "The boy's care has indeed been unsatisfactory."

"Unsatisfactory? Dr Jimenez, the boy's care has practically been inexistent. I'm actually surprised you haven't taken action yet. You do meet with this boy once a week, after all, so I'm sure you've noticed all the signs of neglect I'm talking about."

"I have, but they are not signs of neglect." The man spoke, removing his glasses from his face and massaging his eyes in a tired manner. "As you know, we're short on staff and Leslie is a very difficult patient. He doesn't trust most of the nurses and doctors to touch him and help him with his daily routine. I'm actually surprised at how subdued Leslie is behaving right now with you. Believe me when I say: he is not nearly as quiet and compliant with my staff; but they do their best."

"Their best is not good enough." Sofia stated firmly. "I'm sorry, Doctor, but, difficult or not, we have to find a way to ensure this boy's health. What will his family think when they come to visit him?"

Sofia regretted her words almost as soon as they left her mouth, for the boy close to her started to rock his body frantically as he pulled his hair harshly and repeated again and again: "Family, family, family, family. Family! Family, family…"

Sofia's eyes widened and she turned her body so she could hold the boy's arms softly. "Leslie? What's wrong?"

"Family, family, family…"

Dr Jimenez was on his feet by her side; his right hand on Leslie's shoulder.

"Calm down, Leslie." He spoke firmly.

Leslie's words changed. "Calm down, Leslie. Calm down, Leslie…" But despite them, the boy's movements grew in intensity until he was practically battling both doctors' hands on him. "Calm down, Leslie!"

"See what I mean, Dr Prieto?" Jimenez demanded. "Leslie is a difficult patient and we're understaffed. I can't have my nurses ignoring their duties towards my other patients to deal with this. Now, go get a sedative for Leslie."

Sofia frowned at hearing that. If she applied the sedative, she would be admitting that there was no dealing with Leslie; that instead of finding a way to deal with the boy's problems and helping grow beyond them, they should just accept it and drug him into submission. And she did not become a psychiatrist to do that.

"I can manage, Dr Jimenez." Sofia affirmed with her eyes fixed on Leslie's downward face. "Leslie. Look at me."

_What am I doing? It was supposed to be about research, not patients._

"Leslie. Leslie. Leslie Withers!"

_When did I become a… a…_

The boy suddenly halted his trembling and whispering and slowly, raised his hands to Sofia's neck, ghosting his fingers over the bruises Charles had left earlier that day.

"Hurt…"

Sofia smiled and softly involved the boy's hands with hers. "It's alright. It's alright now, Leslie. There's nothing to worry about."

_A doctor?_

"Now, look at me. Good boy. See? No reason to fret, Leslie. We're okay here, aren't we?"

"Okay. Okay. We're okay."

_When did patients become such an important part of my life? When did listening to them become so… fulfilling?_

Dr Jimenez took a step back and watched the exchange with curious eyes. The wheels in his head were turning and turning and, in a matter of seconds, his decision was made.

"Dr Sofia Prieto, I want you to become Leslie Wither's caretaker for the next month. You'll help the nurses in his routine and have daily sessions with the boy as his psychiatrist. On the rest of the day, you'll continue to assist Dr Márquez. I know it'll take a toll on you, but after the month is passed, we'll figure out a more adequate arrangement."

Sofia's head shot up, her wide eyes gazing into Jimenez's decided ones. "But… what about my research?"

"You'll continue to work on it at night, as you've been doing so far."

"But, taking care of Leslie is going to consume some hours of my night-time. I'm already short on time as it is, Dr Jimenez."

"You rather leave Leslie's situation as it is, then?"

Sofia frowned once again as she felt the boy flinch in her arms. One look at the boy's hollowly face had her making up her mind.

"Alright… I'll accept this month-long trial." Dr Prieto spoke before turning her eyes back to smile encouragingly to the boy. "Come on, Leslie. It's almost 6pm already. Why don't we go get cleaned up for dinner?"

* * *

Half an hour later found Sofia inside a small bathroom, soaked from head to toes and close to a rage fit as she struggled to convince a twitching and half-naked Leslie to get in the tub filled with warm water.

From aspiring writer to surgeon apprentice to researcher to psychiatrist to nurse/psychiatrist/researcher.

How the hell had she come to this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is it for the prologue. I hope you enjoyed it. :)
> 
> As you can see, I intend to follow the pattern of latin-origin names for the people related to the Medical area in the game (Marcelo and his brother, Tatiana and Ruben).
> 
> Also, since Ruvik accused Jimenez of publishing his work, I'm assuming that the later had bioethical experiments going on besides the human ones. After all, I doubt any current and official scientific media would publish a research based on the sort of human-trials those two did.
> 
> That aside, I hope Sofia's background an settlement in Beacon weren't confusing or boring. 
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid


	2. Chapter 2: A First Nip Of Madness

After two weeks taking care of Leslie Withers, Sofia was sure of one thing: if there was a heaven above, she had earned her ticket to it.

The boy was without doubt an autistic; his difficulty in expressing himself, his physiological need of keeping up to a clockwork routine and his preference for repetitive movements and phrases were clear indications of it. Dr Márquez had instructed her as best as he could as how to deal with the boy, but it was still hard on the female doctor, especially because she was dead set on interfering with a routine and habits that the boy had been living with since he had been transferred to Beacon Mental Hospital, about an year ago.

Getting Leslie to take daily baths, allow her to trim his nails, brush his teeth after meals,  _keep_  said meals inside his stomach and, most of all, allow her to put on some socks on his feet – she had given up on shoes – was a difficult process that, Sofia believed, would take her way more than a month to finish. But, god help her, she would finish it. Sofia Prieto did not back down of a challenge.

However, Leslie's condition wasn't made only of challenges. His natural intuition regarding other people's emotions was nothing short of extraordinary. Some days, when Sofia was feeling especially tired or downright fed up with her workload and lack of sleep, the boy would comply with her requests much more easily than normal, softly whispering "Leslie help good doctor" over and over again. It was all it took for Sofia to forget her exhaustion and smile sincerely for the sweet patient.

Progress with Leslie was painstakingly slow, but it was happening.

Unfortunately, Sofia couldn't say the same for her research. Thanks to Dr Jimenez original ideas, they had managed to contour their difficulties and made good progress throughout the year regarding the STEM system. However, on the last days, they had reached a dead-end. They managed to connect the mice's nervous system together and, as expected, the brain waves of most of the mice had adjusted themselves to the ones coming from one of specific mouse – they called it "the god-mouse". However, for some reason, with the exception of the god-mouse, the other test subjects all died mid-way through their STEM session. And, strangely, their deaths were not due only to damage to the nervous system; sometimes, their hearts simply gave up on them, other times, it were the kidneys, others still would die of have an spontaneous internal bleeding. And, with or without Jimenez's astounding brain, they could not figure out why.

* * *

"Sofia, go home." Dr Martins, an old but brilliant researcher, told her as he removed his white coat. "Don't fry your brain so soon, dear. We need you here in the lab."

"Thanks Martins, but I'll spend the night here in the lab." Sofia said tiredly. "I'll run some Western Blots with the Na-creatinine cotransporter of the infarcted mice's heart tissues. See if it was that which failed them."

"Dear, Dr Jimenez should really give you a raise."

"With what money? We all know that cheapskate patron of ours barely give us enough to buy our laboratory materials."

"Fair enough." Dr Martins acquiesced. "Well, instead of good night, I wish you good luck then. See you tomorrow, Sofia."

"See you, Martins. Get some rest."

"You do too. At least some naps while the gel runs and whatnot."

"Will do."

* * *

And she did. During every step that demanded a stand-by of 15 minutes or more, Sofia cushioned her head on her forearms over an empty table and closed her eyes for some much needed rest.

However, her last nap during the procedure was interrupted for something other than her cell phone's alarm: the screeching sound of the laboratory's door opening.

"Huh? Rafael?" Sofia called out the janitor's name in a sleepy voice, rubbing her eyes with one hand as the other reached for her phone. "Is it 6 already?"

It wasn't. It was still 3:14 in the morning, meaning that the person who entered was not the friendly janitor who used to wake her up with a cup of coffee from his thermos and some of that useless chatter that all but made the doctor want to rip the man's eyes out. Sofia was certain that the only reason she hadn't physically attacked the chatty janitor yet was the coffee-filled thermos he shared with her.

Eyes narrowed, Sofia turned around to identify the person who had entered  _her_  laboratory - from 12pm to 6am, Sofia claimed ownership over the place with the only exception being Jimenez when he was feeling up to pull an all-nighter with her.

Her gaze found the strangest man she had encountered in all her life, and that was coming from a psychiatrist that had been practically living in an asylum for the last year or so. He was wearing dress pants and shirt; his spine showed signs of a slight cervical kyphosis and the little skin his clothes allowed to show was covered with taut gauze. His eyes were of a penetrating silver.

Sofia frowned.  _A new patient? Perhaps an emergence hospitalization._

"Sir, this area is off-limits to patients. I'm sorry, but I'll have to ask you to leave." Sofia spoke softly, forcing a polite smile on her lips. "Which doctor hospitalized you, sir? If you're lost, I can take you to them."

"I'm not a patient." The man spoke in a rough voice.

"Who are you then?" Sofia asked, polite smile replaced by a suspicious scowl.

"I should be asking you the same thing." The man shot back, glaring at Sofia. "No one should be here so late at night."

Unafraid, the doctor simply crossed her arms over her chest. "Answer my question or I'll call security."

"Jimenez wouldn't like that."

" _Doctor_  Jimenez wouldn't like having a stranger messing with his research either."

The stranger's silver eyes suddenly started to burn with vengeful hate as he stalked towards her and, for a brief moment, Sofia felt adrenalin being shot in her blood. Fight or flight.

She stood her ground and raised her chin in the air.

Fight.

"You mean  _my_  research." The man spat out, lowering his head until his forehead was glued to Sofia's. "Everything that sycophant has achieved was because of my discoveries. Do you honestly think that cretin would've been able to develop a theory as authentic and complex as linking collective consciousness with that underdeveloped brain of his? No. The STEM system is  _my_  creation."

Sofia's defiance started to whiter at those words and, once again, she asked: "Who are you?"

"Ruben Victoriano. The true creator of the STEM system."

_Victoriano? I know this name… !_

"You're the cheapskate patron." Sofia accused with a frown on her face. "You're the reason we can't hire more doctors or nurses, so I have to slave away in this hospital as psychiatrist, researcher AND nurse day and night without even as much as the prospect of a raise."

Ruben's eyes didn't lose any of its razor-sharp intensity, but he did take a step back, allowing the woman some personal space.

"I give Jimenez the funds he deserves." He stated simply. "And lately, his worth is proving to be less and less."

"Dr Jimenez is a brilliant researcher." Sofia defended. "You may claim to be the creator of the STEM, but what proof do you have? As far as I know, you're just a jealous patron, invading his scientist's laboratory to meddle with his progress. And, even if you are telling the truth about coming up with the theory of the STEM system, Dr Jimenez's ideas were the ones who allowed the research to get so far in so little time. I should know that, because I've been working under him for more than a year already; I've seen his genius work. This, on the other hand, is the first time I see you set foot in this lab."

Once again, Ruvik felt anger coil in his insides at having his work and research attributed to Jimenez's name, but he didn't protest. As wrong as the woman was, her logic was flawless. During the last year Ruvik had been working solely in his mansion's laboratory. The only reason he had come to Beacon this time was to check the patients for himself so he could choose the best test subjects; Jimenez seemed to be giving him his most deplorable specimens and keeping the best ones to himself and  _Mobius._ If not for that, Ruben would still be in the comfort of his home, working on his own experiments. The parasite wast the only link between Ruvik's secret, humans-tested STEM and the hospital's advertised, mice-tested one, so the woman had every reason to believe that the breakthroughs in her little bioethical research came from none other than Jimenez.

"Believe what you will." Ruben spoke at last, forcing himself to breath deeply and let it go. "What is your name?"

"Why do you care?"

"You're in my payroll. I have the right to know the people who work for me, don't you agree?"

Sofia shrugged. "The name is Sofia Prieto."

Ruben's eyes widened for a second in recognition. Jimenez had told her about the young doctor he had hired; said she was the best and most dependable of his scientists. Ruben had also read her contribution to his research and, indeed, she was by far the most competent researcher in the place. She left no loose ends when it came to determining what was going wrong or right with the STEM system. Her work actually helped him to some extent, when it came to deciding his next steps regarding the development of STEM and, if he cared about teamwork or even needed someone else's help, she'd undoubtedly be his first choice. Maybe, if he was lucky, Mobius would see her potential and have her replacing Jimenez as the head of the hospital. He hated dealing with the innocuous old man.

However, the words that left Ruben's lips had nothing to do with his appreciation regarding her work.

"What a fitting name. Sofia for wisdom and Prieto for your pretty dark hair." Ruvik spoke, feeling perverted pleasure at how bothered she seemed to be by his comment.

"Whatever, Mr Victoriano. I-"

Suddenly, an annoying beeping sound invaded the room, making both scientists turn their heads to the cell phone vibrating on the table. Sofia was quick to turn the alarm off and return her attention to the workbench she was using.

"-I have a Western Blot to finish." Sofia completed. "So, if you could excuse me."

Of course the man wouldn't excuse her.

"What are you doing a Western Blot for?"

Sofia didn't even try to hide her exasperated sigh as she turned to face the man once again. "Mr Victoriano, I'm sorry, but I don't know if I have clearance to discuss my research's details with you."

It was more than enough to have Ruvik seething on the inside. "Are you telling me you won't keep me up-to-date on what is being done with  _my_  research?"

"No. I'm telling you that I won't tell you anything that goes on in  _Dr Jimenez's_ laboratory without his permission first." Sofia spoke, scowling up at the man. "If what you say about being the mastermind behind the STEM system is true, ask Dr Jimenez to reassure me of that. As it is, I have no proof of your role in it. Now, please, leave me to do my job, Mr Victoriano."

Ruvik felt a surge of anger inside him and took a menacing step towards the woman, but, before he could harm her in any way, he was assaulted by a rough coughing fit and a lancinating headache that had him falling to his knees on the ground.

"Mr Victoriano!" Sofia called in alarm, rushing to his side. "Look at you. Up and about late at night in your condition. If you're smart enough to create the STEM system, you should be smart enough to take better care of your body." The doctor was quick to take off her white coat and put it around the coughing man's shoulders. He made to shrug it off, but Sofia kept the coat on his body. "You keep that white coat on. It's cold in the lab and your shirt is much too thin."

"You're… a doctor, after all." Ruben struggled to speak between coughs, with a grimace as the doctor started to do a quick physical on him.

"That's what the pretty piece of paper hanging on the wall inside my office says." Sofia replied, pulling the man up. "Let's get you out of this cold room and get you something warm to drink. You're cold and a bit dehydrated."

"Finish… your… Western Blot." Ruben commanded, forcing himself to stay on his own two feet. "I can… tend to my own needs."

"But-"

"Just!" Sofia flinched at the man's sudden loud voice. "Do as… you're told, Dr Prieto. Remember I pay… your salary."

The woman scowled, resisting the urge to slap him behind the head. Throwing the money card was a low blow.

"Fine. Get yourself killed; see if I care."

Without another word, they turned their backs to each other. Ruben walked out of the laboratory, while Sofia got back to her work.

* * *

"Leslie help good doctor… Leslie help..."

Sofia smiled as she put the socks on Leslie's feet. For the first morning since she began taking care of the boy, he was sitting quietly on his bed, allowing her to do so without twitching and whining uncontrollably.

"Indeed, you're helping me a great deal today. Last night was kind of rough for me, you know?" Sofia commented light-hearted. "But taking care of you is really helping me to forget it. It's therapeutic being with you, Leslie."

"Even when… Leslie isn't a… good boy?"

Sofia blinked up at the boy. "Leslie, you're always a good boy."

"The nurses said-"

"The nurses don't know what they're talking about. You're a wonderful boy, Leslie. You always will be." Sofia said firmly. "Now, let's have some breakfast."

* * *

Despite her calm morning with Leslie, Sofia's day was nothing if not exhausting. As soon as she was done with helping the boy with his morning routine, she went after Dr Márquez, only for him to tell her that he finally thought her ready to take over some of his patients. Now, she had to find a way to conciliate her routine with Leslie and daily one-hour sessions with three new patients. As if things couldn't get worse, Dr Jimenez had asked her to drop by the laboratory that night as well; he had been pleased about her initiative on doing the Western Blot with the Na-creatinine cotransporter – despite the negative result – and wished for they to do some brainstorming about their next step on the research. A brainstorming that, she was sure, would end with her pulling out another all-nighter amongst Petri dishes, test tubes, electrophorator, etc.

So, after tucking Leslie in bed, Sofia dragged the exhausted living carcass she dared to call a body down the steps to the laboratory. Only to find none other than Ruben Victoriano lounging at her favourite table and reading her latest lab notebook.

Sofia felt very close to psychotic break.

"Dr Prieto, glad you could finally join us." Jimenez spoke, voice dripping with relief. "This here is my… well-"

"Financial and intellectual host is the term you're looking for, I believe." Ruben put in, not raising his eyes from the notebook in his hands. "And there is no need for introductions, Dr Prieto and I have met already."

"You have?" Jimenez asked, taken a back.

Sofia nodded him. "Last night he came in, claiming to be the creator of the STEM project and asking about what I was doing. I told him I couldn't simply believe his words and show him our work without your clearance, Dr Jimenez."

"Well, you have it now." Ruvik spoke firmly, raising his silver eyes to Jimenez. "Isn't that right?"

The doctor's jaw clenched in irritation, but he still nodded his head. "Ruben is an important… associate-" It was Ruben's time to clench his jaw in anger. "-in our research. You have my permission to share details of your progress with him."

At that, Jimenez's cell phone beeped once, indicating a message.

"I have good news for you, Dr Prieto. My brother's flight arrived earlier than scheduled and I have to pick him up in the airport, so I'll have to postpone our brainstorming session. You may go home and get some well-deserved rest."

"Dr Jimenez, that is the best n-"

"I will remain here for some hours still, Jimenez. Dr Prieto and I can do some brainstorming of our own." Ruben said matter-of-factly.

Jimenez seemed as if he wanted to protest, but instead he nodded his head. "Very well. Dr Prieto, would you please walk me out? Dr Márquez told me he assigned you some new patients and I'd like to hear from you how it went."

"Of course, Dr Jimenez."

* * *

"Sofia, I don't know what Ruben told you, but don't believe a word of what he says. He is not to be trusted. I want you to tell me everything he says to you, is that understood?"

"Yes, Dr Jimenez. But…"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry, doctor, but I have to ask. Is it true what he told me? That he is the true creator of the STEM system?"

"…Sofia, what I'm going to tell you now must never be repeated. Ever. Do you think you can keep a secret? One that may very well put your life in line?"

"If it's for the STEM, then yes."

"I knew you wouldn't disappoint me. Yes, it's true that Ruben was the one to develop the STEM system theory, but he has not been building it in an adequate way."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't explain it to you yet. But I can tell you that Ruben is a dangerous man."

"If he is so dangerous, why do you still deal with him?"

"Because we need him. It is his capital that keeps this hospital running and his idea that give us hope of treating mental illness that, so far, we see as incurable. We can't disassociate ourselves from him yet; we have an obligation to our patients to keep this hospital running. I'm not telling you to bow to his every demand without question. Just… if there's conflict between the two of you, come to me, alright? I know you can be a bit stubborn sometimes, but try not to antagonize him too much."

"Yes, Dr Jimenez."

* * *

Sofia had barely put a foot inside the laboratory when Ruvik's voice touched her ears. At the very same moment, a razor blade touched her throat.

"Has Jimenez turned you against me yet?" The man taunted from behind, lips ghosting over Sofia's ear.

"If he hadn't, you just did, Mr Victoriano." Sofia spoke firmly, raising her hands and softly laying them over the gauze-wrapped hand that was holding the blade to her throat. "Now, put it down."

Ruvik chuckled softly as he acquiesced to Sofia's request. "Not an ounce of fear in your voice. You just don't disappoint, do you?"

"No." The woman spoke firmly, narrowed eyes following Ruvik's form in suspicion.

"Hmmm? Arrogant, aren't we?" The man asked, laying the blade on the top of the notebook he was reading earlier.

"No." Sofia answering, feeling her body relax at seeing Ruvik let go of his weapon. "I was raised not to disappoint and I know I don't."

Ruvik seemed to raise a curious eyebrow beneath the gauze wrapped around his head, but he thought better than to comment on her words.

"By the way-" Sofia began again. "-I make up my own mind."

It was a lie; had been a lie her whole life. She had allowed her parents to rule her life for more than 20 years and it seemed not to be much different with her admired Dr Jimenez. The man was driving her career in his hospital as if she was his little puppet.

However, people say that a lie told a thousand times becomes a truth. Maybe, if Sofia repeated it enough to herself and others, it would become her reality.

Ruben's eyes were intense as he stared and smiled at her. "How very interesting…"

Somehow, Sofia was sure he had seen right through her lie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep swapping the names Ruben and Ruvik to talk about him on purpose. He's not a little boy anymore, but he still isn't that hateful entity caged inside STEM either. He's in a grey area here, and that's how I intend to portray him. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter and, please, tell me what you think
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid


	3. Chapter 3: Upgrade

Weeks passed after that fated meeting and things finally started to look up for Sofia. Not only did she finally manage to get Leslie to allow a couple of the nurses to help him on his daily routine and, most important, do part of it by himself, but she also had received a substantial and – in her opinion at least – well-deserved raise.

Her nights were still mostly spent in the laboratory. However, thanks to the nurses handling mostly of Leslie's night routine – although she made sure to go tuck in the boy and check how his day had went – she had more time in the late afternoon to spend in the laboratory, so she didn't need to pull out nearly as many all-nighters as she did before. Only when Ruben showed up in the hospital to check upon her research - or, in her opinion, terrorize and pressure her - did Sofia have no choice but to spend the night in the lab, living off caffeine and sugar.

It was incredible how, despite his fragile body, Ruvik was ruthless when it came to his research; something that, more often than not, lead him to convulsing or passing out mid-way through a heated discussion or even regular experiments, and Sofia to fretting over his health like a nagging wife.

* * *

"I just hope you've put Beacon Mental Hospital in your will, Ruben." Sofia spoke, scowling down at the man who was draped over the empty staffroom's couch. "Sooner or later, you're going to kill yourself during one of these all-nighters in the lab. Your body can't endure such stress."

The man remained in silence, eyes closed as he struggled to catch his breath. She noticed a wet and yellowish spot growing on the gauze of his neck.

"When was the last time you changed your bandages?"

"The day before yesterday, about 7am."

The doctor had to resist the urge to scream at the man's imprudence. "You do know you should change your gauze, at the very least, once a day."

"I was busy."

"You were stupid." Sofia retorted, sighing in exasperation. "I'm going to get some fresh gauze to redress your wounds."

* * *

To Sofia's surprise, Ruben had allowed her to assist him in redressing his head and torso. Not exactly wounds, she discovered, but third and second degrees burn scars that extended for more than half of his head and upper body's area and god know how much of his legs. She betted that some of him skin had lost most of its sensitivity while the rest kept him in constant pain. Not only that, the right half of his skull had been replaced by a transparent prosthetic and it was something that fascinated Sofia to no end; she had spent some months in a surgery internship, but never seen something like that.

However, no matter how severe and unusual Ruben's scars were, Sofia remained in complete silence as she cleaned and wrapped them. It was his business. No matter how curious she was, she would not intrude. She would not.

But she had to admit she was very grateful when he brought it up.

"Ask. I know you want to."

"Are you going to answer me if I do?" The doctor asked lowly, never stopping her hands. "You know that I hate useless chatter, so don't incite my curiosity if you have no intention of satisfying it."

"I have no intention of leaving you without an answer. But you have to make the right question."

"Very well, then. Who did this to you, Ruben?"

The way the man's body tensed was all the proof Sofia needed. She did make the right question.

"They say it was an 'accident' but I know it's a lie. Those paltry worms that lived off my family's land. They caused this. We were innocently playing in the barn when those cockroaches set fire on it and took everything from me. Their envy consumed it. My happiness, my light… my sanity."

Knowing from the defeated way the man's houlders slumped forward that she wouldn't get more than those confusing fragments from him, Sofia just finished bandaging the his torso in silence. It was obviously a sensitive subject for Ruben; he didn't need her pressuring him to talk more than he already had.

Once the doctor was done bandaging the man's upper body, her hands remained on his shoulders. Normally, she would avoid physical contact when her patients were in such a deep emotional state, for many of them tended to react violent to touching, however at that moment it seemed to be the other way around. It seemed that, as soon as she removed her hands from Ruben's trembling shoulders, he'd lash out at anything or anyone that crossed his way. And, currently, she was the only possible target to his anger.

Comforting words would have no effect on Ruben; he was too deep in his pain to care for them so, for lack of a better course of action, Sofia remained still and silent, listening as his ragged breathing slowed down and feeling the pulsating rhythm of the thin arteries beneath her hands decelerate bit by bit. Only when Sofia was sure his body had returned to its physiological state of calm did she dare to speak.

"Would you like me to continue helping you?" The doctor spoke softly. "With the bandages."

_And the emotional trauma._

Ruben shook her hands off his shoulders. "No. I can take care of myself."

"Alright." Sofia spoke as she got up from the couch. "If you need help, I'll be just outside."

Before she could take a step forward, a bony hand encircled her wrist in a tight and almost painful grip. Ruvik's razor-sharp eyes stared up at her with deadly promise.

"If you ever tell anyone about this-"

Sofia smiled. "Don't worry; I won't."

"Also, I don't want you investigating my life. If you have questions about my past, I demand you ask them directly to me and not to some cheap, old newspaper or even worse,  _Jimenez_."

The woman's smile dropped.

The man's grip tightened.

"Is that understood, Sofia?"

"…Yes."

* * *

_From: sofia . prieto bmh . us_

_To: marcelo . jimenez bmh . us_

_Good evening, Dr Jimenez_

_The progress Ruben and I have made this night was little and can be found written in my lab notebook. Other than that, I have nothing to report. This night in the laboratory has been, like most, completely uneventful._

_Dr Sofia Prieto_

* * *

The next morning was the prelude to a hellish day to Dr Prieto. Not only had she deprived herself of her sleep to work with Ruben in the laboratory, but also Rafael had woken her in the staffroom for some of his pointless conversation – and he had forgotten his nectar-filled thermos to share with her.

And now… now she was in Leslie's bedroom, trying to comfort the boy who was for some reason sobbing inconsolably as he rocked his body and repeated "Leslie is a bad boy" over and over again, louder each time.

"Leslie, calm down." Sofia spoke as she sat on the boy's bed, close but not quite touching him. "Come on, look at me, Leslie. Leslie, you're not a bad boy. Leslie. Leslie Withers!" At that small outburst, Sofia grabbed the boy by his shoulders. Her grip was very soft, but her sudden action and firm voice were enough to make the boy halt his movements and his crying, and finally raise his eyes to her. "See? You are a good boy, Leslie. Remember what I told some weeks ago? You'll always be a good boy."

"Then… why can't Leslie go home?"

Sofia's eyes widened at hearing that question. She knew from the boy's files that his parents had abandoned him on the door of the hospital that was run by Dr Jimenez's brother when he was but a baby. However, the boy had never mentioned his abandonment or his parents to her during their session and Sofia hadn't pushed him to do so either. Maybe, she should've done so.

"Leslie, you are home." Sofia spoke with a soft smile. "Home is where we are safe and with people that care about us. Beacon is your home."

"People that care about us. About us. About us. About us. About… us. About…  _me_?"

During her internship in cardiothoracic surgery, Sofia had often been told she had a heart of stone but at that moment she was sure it was not so. The pain she felt in her chest at seeing Leslie' lost and unbelieving expression was very much real.

"I care about you, Leslie." Sofia spoke at last, pulling the boy in a soft hug. "More than anyone else."

_And I'll find a way to help you get through this._

* * *

"Dr Prieto, can I have a word with you?"

Immediately, Sofia raised her eyes from the ridiculous excuse for a lunch she was eating in her small office to the figure standing in her doorway.

"Of course, Dr Jimenez. Would you like to come in? Or do you rather me to go to your office?"

"I'll come in, if you don't mind. It'll only take a moment." The man spoke, taking a seat on an armchair across from the woman. "Earlier this morning, I received your request to acquire some transgenic mice from the Jackson Laboratory."

"Yes. The B6 congenic strain with SHANK 3 deletion." Sofia confirmed. "A model to the study to autism."

"Why?"

"Dr Jimenez, it has been many weeks since we last made significant progress with the STEM system. With the exception of the god-mouse, all of our test subjects are dying of varied causes and, it pains me to admit it, I can't figure out why. I think it's time for us to try connecting mice from mutant lineages to the STEM."

"But why autistic mice?"

Sofia shrugged. "I was thinking in starting with mutations involving the central nervous system, since it is the doorway to the STEM. The model for autism was the first that came to mind."

_And I want to find out the prognosis for Leslie's treatment once the STEM is fully developed._

"That is a good point, Sofia." Jimenez spoke, nodding his head in understanding. "I'll do my best to get the capital for your mice."

"Thank you."

* * *

"Acquiring this new lineage, it wasn't your idea was it?" Ruvik demanded as he descended the scalpel on his most recent deceased test subject's head. For a moment he wondered if the native american indians felt as thrilled as he did when scalping their defeated enemies.

Dr Jimenez stared at the other scientist with distaste. He hated coming to the Victoriano mansion to speak with his patron. He understood that mankind had to perform callous procedures in name of Science, but Ruben Victoriano took it too far; he wasn't a man, he was a monster.

"No. It was Dr Prieto's idea. She believes it's time to try a new approach in STEM's development."

"I should've known dear Sofia would be the one to come up with an actual idea as to how advance in her little experiments with rats. She actually manages to keep me interested in her bioethical research."

" _My_ bioethical research." Jimenez said through gritted teeth. "She works for me, Ruben, not the other way around."

"Quiet, Jimenez!" The scientist exclaimed in rage as he raised his blazing eyes to the doctor's wide ones. "What you did was nothing more than replicate  _my_ results in your rat trials so you could publish  _my_  work in your name, under the pretence that you're following all of Medicine's protocols. And now that I've come upon an obstacle in my progress, you do nothing but wait for me to overcome it, while Sofia is actively trying to find ways to advance on  _her_  research. You're a parasite, Jimenez. Never forget that."

The doctor clenched his fists and jaw in anger at the insults being thrown at him but did nothing to dismiss them. Let Ruvik speak to his heart's contents; as long as he gave Jimenez what he wanted, he would take it.

"I did not come here to be insulted, Ruben. I came here to see if you'll provide us the funds to acquire those mice."

"Why don't you ask  _Mobius?"_ Ruvik spoke the last word with so much venom that Jimenez couldn't help but flinch.

"They have no interest in Dr Prieto's research. As long as you and I continue to work on the human-directed STEM, they couldn't care less about the mice-directed one."

"But you need her to continue working on it, so you can have continue to publish in official scientific magazines and enjoy all the public recognition you don't deserve."

Jimenez clenched his teeth, but refused to answer Ruvik's taunt. It was with much self-restraint that he waited in silence for Ruvik to give him his answer.

"I will provide for Dr Prieto's research, but you'll have to do something for me first."

"I can't. I gave you new-"  _people; innocent people_  "-test subjects last week. I can't spare anyone else at the moment. Not without getting unwanted attention."

"Once again you show how close-minded you are." Ruvik spoke, smiling in sadistic amusement. "I'm not a child anymore; I know better than to ask for new test subjects so soon. What I want is much simpler: Sofia Prieto here in my home, for two days' time."

"Simple?! She is my best researcher and one of the few good psychiatrists I can count on; not to mention the only who knows how to deal with Leslie. I can't lose her."

Somewhere in his mind, Ruvik saved the name Leslie for further investigation, but that would come later. He had more pressing matters now.

"You won't lose her. I said I needed her only for two days, didn't I? I'll return her to you safe and sound once these days are over." Ruvik reassured, returning his attention to his dissection. "Hand her to me or there will be no mice for you, Jimenez."

Dr Jimenez didn't trust Ruvik – never had and never would – but he had no choice.

"At least wait until the weekend, when she usually takes her days off."

"As you wish. But only because I'm in an astounding good mood today."

* * *

"I knew you were filthy rich, but only now I can see how much." Sofia spoke as she entered the Victoriano mansion with a small tourist bag slung over a shoulder, a wet umbrella in her right hand and wide eyes taking in the luxurious entry hall. "You live in a damned castle, but still behave like a cheapskate when it comes to the hospital's donations."

Ruben scowled at the water dripping from the woman's umbrella to his ground. A group of house cleaners came to his home once every week, but they weren't due to come for five days now.  _That will have to dry on its own._

"You, from all people, should not complain about the funds I provide the hospital." Ruben spoke. "As far as I know, I'm paying you a very reasonable salary, not to mention providing you with whatever research material you ask for."

"As long as I do your biding and face the traffic of a stormy Friday night to come work for you on my days off."

Ruben smirked. "Quid-pro-quo."

"What do you require my assistance in, anyway? Dr Jimenez didn't tell me what it was."

"That's because I didn't tell him what it was." Ruvik spoke, menacing eyes staring right into her soul. "And neither will you, if you know what's good for you."

The doctor nodded. If it meant the success of the STEM - if it meant a treatment for Leslie - she wouldn't.

* * *

Ruben led Sofia to his basement, demanding her to wait upstairs until he turned on the lights - and deactivated his traps - and called for her. Once it was safe, he allowed her to climb down the stairs and led her straight to the only unlocked door there. When she asked about what was beyond the other doors, all he said was for her to mind her own business.

The room they entered was dark and its infrastructure was old, but the furniture was not. In there, she could see some electrodes cables and a finger clip for vitals-measurement. Both were connected to a late-generation computer with two wide monitors. The woman's eyes examined the piece of technology before settling on a thick cable that was leaving its CPU and sneaking its way to an uncomfortable-looking chair, besides which was a tall metal bar that held a helmet-like metallic apparatus. On the other side of the chair was a small table with antiseptic, cotton, gauze and... were those adrenalin shots?

"What's this?" Sofia let out, examining the strange chair with a curious frown on her face.

"This is my Upgrade Chair, something I've been working on for the last weeks. It's also the reason you're here." Ruben explained as he started to boot the computer. "That chair is supposed to connect my mind directly to the computer's hard drive and allow me to download its contents to my brain; a STEM system between myself and the computer if you will. Your job is to commence the download of the 'Russian Language' file and closely accompany my vitals to make sure everything is alright with my body. As long as that helmet is on my head my EEG will also be shown in the monitor so you can check on my brain waves as well. Of course, everything will be recorded in the computer for futher studies but I won't allow those archives to leave my home. Understood, Dr Prieto?"

Sofia didn't answer. She stood there, staring at the chair with wide eyes full of awe. If what Ruben said was true and he could actually download contents to someone's brain, this could revolutionize all of their learning system. Hours of reading books would be reduced by minutes of… what exactly?

"How will the data be engraved in your brain, Ruben?"

"Think a little about your own question, Sofia. I'm sure you'll manage to answer it yourself."

_Our learning system is mostly based on the formation of new brain synapses. According to Hebbian's theory, for this to happen, the brain's cells must be stimulated by activation of the existing neurons, which is done through-_

"Electrical currents…" Sofia whispered to herself, before whipping her head to glare at Ruben. "No way, Ruben. You hear me? No way I'm letting you fry that brain of yours. With the studies developed so far, there is no way for you know which neurons you have to stimulate for the learning process to happen. Even if there was, you'd have to exercise a perfect control over the current's intensity and the way it would run through your brain, which is impossible."

"It is not and I'll prove it to you." Ruvik spoke as he started to remove his shirt and the bandages from his chest.

Believing the scientist was playing a game with her – a very sick game in her opinion – Sofia watched as he connected some electrodes to his chest and put the finger clip on his index finger; immediately, one of the monitors started to show his vitals and ECG. Then Ruben walked to his Upgrade Chair as he undid the bandages from his head and dropped them to the ground. Before sitting down, he reached for the antiseptic from the small table and used it to clean his skull and prosthetic, then the nails on the Upgrade Chair's helmet-like part.

Once he was done, Ruvik put the bottle back on the table and sat down on the chair.

Automatically, cuffs closed around his wrists and ankles, startling the woman and prompting her to run to him and drop to her knees. She reached for the cuffs around his ankles and used all of her strength to try and pull them open.

"I know how much you hate to venture in pointless quests, Sofia, so don't even bother to try and get these open. They're programmed not to open until the program has been executed."

"Don't be ridiculous. I'll get a chainsaw if I have to."

"Sofia!" Ruvik barked with such authority in his voice that the woman couldn't help but halt her movements and look up at him. "You'll move yourself to that computer and do as you were told in the next ten seconds, or else your dear patient Leslie Withers just might find himself being examined by a pathologist instead of a psychiatrist!"

Sofia's eyes widened for a second before narrowing in intense anger and disgust.

"Fine. Have it your way." The woman said as she stood on her feet. "I hope this machine burns as much of your brain as they did with your body."

Ruvik glared back at her, but, before he could shoot his own comment, the metal helmet descended over his head and its thin nails dig into his brain.

For a second, there was light in Ruvik's mind.

Then came the most absolute darkness.

* * *

When Ruben came to, he felt unusually warm and comfortable, even though he was sure he wasn't lying on his own bed. Slowly, his eyes fluttered open and he sat up, allowing the thick cover over him to slid down his shoulders and chest and pool around his waist. He was lying on the floor of his basement; beneath his body was a thick duvet, beneath his head a goose feather pillow, and over him a warm blanket. He could see his vitals displayed on one of his computer's monitors and some syringes with adrenalin close by and ready for use. Dr Prieto had been keeping a good eye on him, as he expected.

"You're alive. Good. That means I can kill you myself."

Ruben heard Sofia's bored voice coming from a few feet in front of him and automatically he raised his head to stare at the doctor, finding her sitting on his newest invention and glaring daggers at him through hooded eyes. He found himself smirking at the ire in her orbs.

"You wouldn't if you could, Sofia dear."

When she stood up and started to march towards him in what she thought was a menacing stance, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"You stupid, stupid, STUPID genius. Stop laughing. Do you have any idea how close you came to death? Your heart frequency went from 87 to 209 in less than one second. You came  _this_  close to a haemorrhagic stroke. And those nails penetrating your head? You could've damaged your cerebral cortex, reckless idiot. Not to mention that now you have holes on your skull and prosthetic - which, by the way, you'll have to replace as soon as possible. Do you have any idea how vulnerable you are to infections right now?" Sofia spoke in a low but and murderous voice, her body bent over at the waist so her angry face was inches from Ruben's amused one. "You find this funny? What would I tell Dr Jimenez if his hospital's patron died in my watch?"

Ruvik's amusement died as soon as Jimenez's name left the woman's lips and he made sure to show his displeasure by grabbing her cheeks with his right hand and pulling her face even closer to his roughly. The sudden movement was enough to make her lose balance and fall over Ruben's body, making the man hiss in pain, something that actually made his expression more threatening.

"You will not mention that parasite's name in my home again, understand?" Ruvik ordered through gritted teeth. "Not unless you wish to talk about his many flaws and ways we could end his life."

Sofia frowned in displeasure at the man's words. Jimenez maybe wasn't the scientific genius she had believed him to be, but he was a very good psychiatrist who was doing all he could to keep Beacon Mental Hospital running. Therefore, unable to agree with Ruvik's demands, she opted for changing the subject.

"Despite my logic and common sense giving me the answer already, I'm going to ask you anyway. Can you speak Russian?"

Ruben's angry expression gave place to an arrogant smirk.

"Вы недооцениваете меня, София."

Sofia's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. He had done it. Ruben had connected his brain to his computer and successfully downloaded content into his mind. It was impossible and amazing; it was-

"A miracle..."

Ruben's eyes shone at those words.  _Did you hear that, father? I'm capable of creating miracles, something your church never could._

"Yay, you did it. Amazing." Sofia deadpanned, putting an unimpressed face as she removed the electrodes from Ruben's chest and the clip from his finger before pushing herself up to her feet. "However, I'd appreciate if we postponed our awe for your accomplishment for a later time. Before I go to sleep, I'd like to take a look at your head injuries in a place with adequate light, if you don't mind. God, I hope your vaccines are up-to-date; especially the tetanus one…"

"Sleep." Ruben scoffed, standing up slowly on shaky legs. "How can you think about that after such a breakthrough?"

Sofia's eyes narrowed. "It's already 1pm.. You've been sleeping for 18 hours, Ruben. 18 hours that I spent agonizing here with my eyes glued to your vitals, debating if I should follow your instructions or just risk your anger and call an ambulance. I had to try to examine the wounds in your head and change your bandages in a ridiculously dark room. I'm sorry if 18 hours of pure stress have managed to tire me enough for me to need some sleep, but that's the way it is."

Ruben frowned and took a step towards the doctor, mouth open and ready to shoot a retort to her, but his legs weren't enough to hold his weight. Fortunately, before the man could fall to the ground, Sofia ran to him and held him around his waist; it kept him from hitting the floor but it didn't keep him from howling in pain at the sudden contact.

"Sorry, but it was better than letting you fall." Sofia spoke as she put one of Ruben's arms around her shoulders and one of hers around his waist. "Come on, let's get you upstairs. Despite your long nap, I think you're needing some rest as well."

Despite wanting to protest, Ruben didn't find in him the energy to do so, so he just groaned and allowed the doctor to help him up the stairs. But not before he reached for the wall's light switch. And for the hidden switch close to it that would reactivate his basement's traps in exact five minutes.

"Never tell Jimenez or anyone else about this.  _Any_  of this." Ruvik ordered as they went up the stairs.

Sofia was taken aback by those words. She knew he meant his dependent state just as much as his breakthrough.

"What do you take me for? I'm a doctor. I never discuss what happens between me and my patients."

"Who are you trying to fool?" Ruben asked with a sneer. "I'm much more than just a patient to you."

Sofia raised an eyebrow at the man's statement. What he meant by it, she wasn't sure, but a part of her knew he was right. However, she wasn't about to let him have the last word this time.

"Not when you're like this. I refuse to see you as anything more than a patient when you're this vulnerable."

The glare Ruvik shot her was enough to chill the flames of hell and submit them to a tense and uncomfortable silence, only interrupted by the sounds of their steps and the raging storm outside.


	4. Chapter 4: Preparing For Sleep

"How wide were those nails that you shoved into your head? Even without hair I can't see the wounds; not even in the prosthetic."

Instead of answering the doctor, Ruben remained silent and with his eyes closed, as if lost in his own world. Sitting there on his bed, with the sound of rain hitting on his window and fingers softly ghosting over his skin, memories from years ago resurfaced in his mind. Laura talking to him before sleep. Laura softly combing her fingers through his hair. Laura kissing his face with all the tenderness her sweet soul could provide. Laura-

"Ruben. Answer me."

-didn't have such a demanding voice.

"They're barely 100 micrometres wide. As I told you before; you won't find any signs of the damage. Just let it go, stubborn woman."

"But you have to repl-"

"I'll replace the prosthetic first thing on Monday. Happy?" Ruvik spat out, already dreading his future medical consult with Jimenez. Really, he should've found himself another doctor long ago instead of allowing Jimenez – and now Sofia, to some extend - to be the only one on pair with his medical situation and, it pained him to admit, skilled enough to handle that which would protect his brain.

"Charming as usual." The doctor grumbled as she stood up to get the gauze on his desk. "Makes me wonder why I treat you so nicely."

"Because you admire my genius and wishes to enjoy it as much as you can. I can't blame you; it must be difficult for you to find any kind of stimulating companionship amongst those cretin doctors and mentally unstable patients."

"The beacon of sanity has spoken." Sofia spoke sarcastically, as she started to warp the fresh gauze around Ruben's head. "Must I remind you that you had a razor on my throat once?"

Ruvik smirked. "I was just playing."

"…You're really not doing a good job at proving your sanity."

After that, both fell in silence as Sofia finished tending to Ruben. For the man, the silence was blissful, for it allowed him to remember his treasured moments with his sister with unnatural precision. For the woman, it was like the calm before the storm, for she had one question to ask and something told her that it was about a very delicate matter.

"Ruben, you told me that if I ever wanted to know something about you, I should ask you directly." Sofia began speaking, just as her hands finished working.

The scientist didn't hesitate. "Ask."

"Who is Laura?"

The man didn't tense, nor did he widen his silver eyes. He had expected this question sooner or later, and it seemed very fitting that she would ask it while she herself had brought upon him memories of his beloved sister not five minutes ago.

"She was my sister." Ruben spoke in a low voice, smiling as a perfect image of Laura was constructed by his longing brain. She was just so beautiful. "She was killed by those vermin. She died because she couldn't save both me and herself from the fire."

For long moments the only sounds between them came from the thunders raging outside.

"Why are you asking me this now?"

Sofia tensed.

"You mumbled her name while you slept, that's all."

* * *

_Sofia gulped when the helmet-like apparatus descend on the scientist's head and flinched when the nails penetrated his skull._

_When the machine discharged an electric current strong enough to make his whole body spasm, she actually yelled._

" _Ruben!"_

_Sofia tried to use the computer to turn off the machine, but she wasn't fast enough to achieve that before the program was executed and the apparatus had levitated from his head and the cuffs around his wrists and ankles opened on their own free will. The doctor ran to the man, catching his upper body mid-air before he could fall down to the floor._

" _Don't you dare lose conscious on me now. There's no way I can carry you upstairs by myself."_

_To Sofia's utmost relief and surprise, Ruben moved in her arms. Slowly, he raised his head to look at her and his hands to caress her face. His gauze warped thumbs ghosted over her cheeks in a tender gesture before he moved his hands to the back of her head so he could gently comb his fingers through her black hair. Before Sofia could take any action, he pulled her to him, burying his nose on her hair. She felt his contended sigh on her cheek and couldn't help but blush._

" _Laura…"_

_After that, Ruben's body and mouth went completely limp._

* * *

"You loved her very much." Sofia spoke.

"I did."

"I… I don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything. Both of us have no use for pointless conversation." The man stated as he stood up. Ruben loved talking about his sister, but he didn't care at all for other people's sympathies. "Come, I'll show you your room so both of us can get some rest."

"Alright. Just let m- damn."

"What?"

"In my hurry to bring you upstairs and take a good look at you, I left my bag in the basement." The doctor sighed. "Don't worry. I'll go get it."

Ruben tensed. His basement was full of traps that would undoubtedly kill Sofia if he wasn't there to disarm them before she went into the long corridor down the stairs. And he didn't want to go back to his basement so soon; if he did, he was sure he would want another go on his new invention and he doubted his body could handle it. None of the test subjects that went through a second round did.

"We'll go get it later."

"But my clothes are there and I'd like to take a shower before going to sleep."

Ruben sighed in annoyance. "There is a bathroom annexed to your bedroom. You just go take your shower and I'll get your handbag and leave it in your room meanwhile."

Sofia frowned at Ruben's words, something that did not go unnoticed by the scientist.

"What?" He demanded.

"I'm just not used to you being nice, that's all." Sofia answered. "Also, are you sure you're in condition to go down there and climb up the stairs by yourself?"

"Don't delude yourself; I'm never  _nice_." Ruvik spat. "And I go up and down my basement's stairs many times a day just fine. I'm not dependant on you, or anyone."

Sofia decided not to comment on how defensive Ruben had just sounded. The man was getting increasingly uptight since she mentioned her forgotten backpack and she didn't need an angry Ruben to share the mansion with. No matter how large the manor was, she was sure he'd find ways to torment her if he so wished.

"Just take me to my room please." Sofia asked tiredly. "I want to take a bath."

* * *

As much as it pained Ruvik to admit his incapacity in accomplishing something, he had to be realistic; his body was still much too weak for him to go back down to the basement to get Sofia's bag. Not only were his muscles in a state of chronic fasciculation, but he also could feel a migraine approaching. And when was the last time he ate something? For all he knew, he could already be in risk of a hypoglycaemic shock. The peril of losing consciousness while going down the stairs was very much real and the potential consequences very much disastrous.

However, Sofia had already entered the shower and Ruben had promised clean clothes for when she got out.

He could risk going down to the basement on his wobbly legs, falling down the stairs, losing conscious and have Sofia going down there and getting herself killed by his traps anyway, or…

A psychotic smile stretched across the scientist's face.

"Mother, dearest. It seems saving your clothes will come in handy after all."

* * *

Ruben scowled as he examined one his parents' many abandoned wardrobes.

All of his mother's clothes were just so  _bland_. All he could see was black, brown and dark blue button up dresses that just screamed tame and tedious. Ruben would rather see dear Sofia walking around in a towel than wearing something so dull. Someone as… stimulating as the doctor deserved clothes that held more of life to them than a unmoving stone. Something more…

_Red._

With that last thought, Ruben slammed the wardrobe's doors closed and walked to the bedroom's door, where he stood for some seconds, staring at the foot of his parents' bed.

Ruvik could see their corpses so clearly.

It was the reason he had kept his parents' bedroom exactly as it was; he loved to reminisce the day he freed himself from their tyranny and ignorant ways.

_You're never out of my mind._

* * *

Ruben had barely laid back on his bed and closed his eyes when his bedroom's door was slammed open.

"Ruben, the dress you left in my room isn't mine."

"The storm must've damaged some electrical wires. The basement is out of power so I can't open the room. As you must've noticed before, all the rooms there have electrical locks." Ruben lied, not bothering to open his eyes. His head was starting to hurt. Badly. "There's no way for us to go down now. You'll have to make it do with that dress until the power returns."

He heard the doctor sigh. "Fine… Hey, do you have a cook working for you or something?"

_Killed him 15 years ago._

"No, but you can scavenge the kitchen downstairs for something." The man answered tiredly. "And bring me something to eat as well. And a bottle of wine; I'm thirsty."

"I don't think you should be drinking alcohol in y-"

"Just do it!"

"…Yes, your highness."

* * *

As Ruben laid on his back, mid-way into falling asleep again, a tender hand touched his shoulder, spreading sweet warmth into him. Only to raise a second later, taking back that which was offered.

Laura. Always playing games with him.

_I_ _know you're in here. I can hear you breathing._

"Ruben… Ruben…"

The hand was back and this time it didn't leave him. Instead, it rocked his shoulder gently.

"Wake up. I brought you some food."

Laura was always so sweet and considerate. But his head was hurting so bad; he didn't want to move.

"Come on, Ruben. Don't make me get you an ambulance. Or even worse, Dr Jimenez."

The parasite's name was more than enough to remind Ruvik of where he was exactly, and of who was with him. It wasn't his beloved Laura. It would never be her again.

"What did I tell you about saying that vermin's name in my home?" The man spoke through gritted teeth, forcing his eyes open. The bright light made him flinch immediately. "Dim the lights. They're giving me a headache."

Ruvik heard a sigh and soft steps on the floor before Sofia's voice drifted to his ears.

"There. See if it's better now."

The man opened his eyes again, this time managing to keep them like that. Automatically, his gaze fell on the food-tray standing innocently on his nightstand: a bowl of tomato soup, a bottle of water and a glass of wine.

"You call this food?" Ruvik demanded with a sneer. "And I remember asking for a  _bottle_  of wine, not a glass."

"Sorry if that was the healthiest meal I could come up with when all you have in your kitchen are canned goods and microwave meals. Really, with all the money you have you should hire a chef or even better, a nutritionist to cook for you." Sofia spoke with a frown. "And that's all of the alcohol you're getting from me. You do know that malnutrition and alcohol consumption only worsen the body's capacity to heal, right? And with recurrent scars like yours, you should do whatever is in your power to ensure maximum regenerating capacity."

"If I wanted your professional opinion, I'd ask for it." Ruvik spat, turning his head to glare at the woman standing by the light switch.

As soon as his eyes settled on her, Ruben's breath hitched; she just looked so pretty, wearing the red dress he had allowed her to borrow. Of course, it wasn't his Laura's dress; he'd never allow anyone to touch it. The dress she was wearing was just something he had bought in a store during one of his occasional excursions to Beacon Mental Hospital. He obviously didn't need the dress, but it reminded him so much of his sister that he couldn't help but acquire it. The dress might not have been Laura's, but it was more than enough to make the dark haired doctor remind him of her. Just like her soft hands had done moments before.

Sofia frowned at the speechless look on Ruben's face; it was even more ominous than his usual 'be quiet or else I'll pour bleach down your throat' look. Ruben just didn't do speechless.

"Ruben, your food is getting cold."

The man snapped out of his trance and lowered his eyes to his food. Without a word, he began to eat.

"I'm going to sleep now." Sofia announced. "Good night."

She didn't receive an answer.

* * *

Ruben had a raging headache, his body felt weak and his eyes burned if he kept them open through an extended amount of time. And he just couldn't fall asleep.

_It's the thunders' fault. Those vociferous sounds are feeding off my sleep._

When he was young, Ruben could always go to his sister's bed when sleep avoided him, a common occurrence in such stormy nights. Laura's soothing fingers on his hair and soft breathing always lulled him to a restful and sweet sleep.

_There is no Laura anymore. They killed her._

Ruvik's eyes fluttered open and he kept them that way, forcing his orbs to gaze at the ceiling until he couldn't take the burning pain anymore. He blinked twice, reached for the hunting knife he kept under his pillow and stood up.

_There is no Laura. But there is a Sofia._

* * *

Sofia always had a reasonably heavy sleep; heavy enough for her to sleep on an uncomfortable position, draped over one of the laboratory's workbenches. However, that was only when she was in familiar places. Like the bedroom in her small apartment in Krimson City, or the staffroom and laboratory of Beacon Mental Hospital. In unfamiliar places like Ruben's mansion, her sleep was superficial at best. And that was why, even though she was on the peak of exhaustion, Sofia slept fitfully, suffering from frequent micro-awakenings due to the thunders' loud noises. They were tormenting her so much that she didn't even pay attention to the screeching sound of her bedroom's door opening, nor to the low footsteps creeping towards her bed.

Only when she felt her bed dip and a knife being pressed to her throat did Sofia understand she wasn't alone anymore. There was a body behind her.

"Ruben?"

"Shhhh. I didn't come here to hear you talk, Sofia dear." Ruvik breathed in her ear, rough voice somewhere between madness and sleep. "Now turn around. I want you to face me."

Not uttering a word, Sofia did as she was told, feeling the blade slid on her neck tenderly, not yet close to drawing blood. The first thing she noticed was how close Ruvik's face was; his forehead touching hers. The second were his unfocused silver eyes staring at her throat. The third was the small smile on his lips; it was sweetly psychopathic.

"Now, put your arm around me."

Slowly, Sofia encircled Ruvik's shoulders with her arm, laying her hand softly on the back of his neck. At the same time, Rubvik's free hand rose to the back of her head, so he could entwine a lock of her black hair around his middle and index fingers.

"You're not to cut your hair anymore." Ruvik ordered in a soft voice, allowing his eyes to close. "I want it to reach your waist."

Moments later, Sofia felt the man in her arms relax. He was fast asleep.

Unsurprisingly, she didn't manage to follow his example.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :)  
> Please, tell me what you think about it and about my portrayal of Ruben/Ruvik. ;)
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid


	5. Chapter 5: Mousetrap

Even when resting, Ruvik was distrustful; always sleeping with tense muscles and a menacing scowl on his lips, as if ready to attack at the moment's notice. However, as he laid victim of the effects his new invention – the Upgrade Chair – had brought upon him, his body went completely limp besides Sofia. Because, in his mind, Ruvik was Ruben again, lying in bed besides his sister, safe from the vermin and their envy.

The woman in bed with him, however, didn't share of that security. All Sofia felt was fear; just like that time Charles had his large hands around her neck and squeezed. The doctor had always thought Ruben suffered from some sort of borderline psychiatric disorder, but she never believed it was anything too serious; Ruben had always been in complete control of his faculties and actions, even when he had that blade to her throat back in Beacon's laboratory. But now… now it was obvious that the scientist had no control over himself. He could very well kill her while she slept and notice it only in the next morning.

 _Or-_ a little voice in her head began softly. The voice that for some reason always defended Ruben's harsh words and behaviour – _he could just sleep through the night. Close to someone; enjoying some actual comfort. He certainly needs it._

Sofia stared at the man's sleeping face for a minute. Indeed, she had never seen him look so at peace as he was at that moment and it made something warm rise in her chest knowing that she was the cause of it.

Sofia scowled.

_Ruben's delusional mind is the cause of his peace, not me._

Gently, she disentwined the scientist's fingers from her hair. Then, she slowly climbed off the bed and sneaked out of the bedroom. It didn't matter that the basement was without power; she'd go get her handbag. Then, she'd call a taxi and get out of there.

As she left the bedroom, Sofia didn't notice she left the door open.

* * *

The loss of body heat wasn't enough to wake Ruben from his deep sleep, but it did lighten it. The paranoid scientist went from sleeping like a baby to resting as a soldier in a matter of minutes after Sofia left.

Hence, it wasn't long before a wailing thunder caused him to open his eyes in alarm and sit up on the bed. Scowling at nothing in particular, Ruben raised his left hand to rub his face, only then noticing the hunting knife he was holding. Confused, the man's silver eyes started to wander around his bedroom. Only to realize it wasn't his.

The thunder cried out again, taking the scientist out of his stupor and making him realize the agonized sound didn't belong to a thunder.

It was a scream of pain.

Silver eyes widened in realization and, before he knew it, Ruben was off the bed and climbing down his mansion's stairs, two steps at the time.

* * *

Sofia didn't understand what had happened.

One second she was standing at the initial end of the basement's corridor, face turned to the side as she looked for the light switch from just outside the basement's corridor - like she had watched Ruben do from the top of the basement stairs, on the day before - and praying that the power had returned. The next, something hot slashed her abdomen and the side of her face vertically, making let out a thunderous cry of agony.

The woman's arms hugged her body as she fell to her knees and curled up her back, grunting in pain as tears started to build up in her eyes. Slowly, the doctor raised her arms to examine just what the hell had happened to her. As she began to see the red colour of blood in her hands and forearms, another burning pain surged in her, only this time it came from her back, making Sofia's curled body arch as, once again, she screamed out in agony.

Just then, her wide eyes finally noticed that the power had returned to the basement.

They also noticed a laser grate appear on the end of the corridor before coming in her direction at a foreboding pace and, before she knew it, the woman was back on her feet and running from that corridor, crawling her way up the basement's steps.

Sofia only stopped moving when a pair of bare feet, covered by patches of scarred skin, appeared in front of her face. Hesitant – afraid – the woman raised her eyes to stare at the silver orbs she knew would be glaring daggers at her.

She didn't manage to see Ruben's burning eyes, but she felt his cold hands grab her upper arms roughly and pull her to her feet and then back down the stairs at an unforgiving pace. Sofia heard Ruben's rough voice grumbling all the way.

"Half-witted  _bitch…"_

She didn't find it in her to deny his claim.

Shaky, Sofia noticed that the corridor's traps stopped working and that it was plunged into darkness once again and, automatically, her eyes turned to Ruben, who was standing in front of the hallway's door as his left hand searched the wall besides him for a switch, just like she had done before.

Unknown to her, the mansion's owner wasn't looking for the light switch, but for a hidden button that inactivated his traps. Once he had found it and pressed it, Ruben started to roughly pull the woman along the corridor until they reached a door to an empty autopsy room and he could shove her inside. The room was surprisingly well-lit and in it she could see a metal autopsy table, some sinks, rolling tables and glass cabinets full of chemicals and surgery materials.

"Take the dress off and sit on the table." The scientist ordered as he searched one his cabinets for antiseptic and surgery materials. He purposefully ignored the anaesthetic in front of him –  _a little punishment for trespassing._

Still shaky from what happened, Sofia obeyed the man without a question, wincing as her wounds protested at having the fabric ungluing from her blood-soaked skin. Embarrassment was the furthest thing on her mind as she watched Ruben walk to her almost naked form with the surgery materials in his hands.

"No anaesthetic?" The woman asked in a low whisper.

"I only receive mice and, sometimes - when Jimenez is feeling generous - human brain tissue for study." Ruvik lied in an ice-cold tone from behind her. "Never needed anaesthetic. If you're afraid of a little bit of pain, go find yourself a taxi to take you to a hospital."

Sofia lowered her head in resignation, something that only irritated Ruvik further. He didn't like that submissive version of the doctor; it reminded him too much of that sycophant, Jimenez. Without warning, the scientist roughly shoved the antiseptic-coated cotton ball on the sensitive skin of the wound in the woman's back, making her cry out in pain. And anger.

"RUBEN! Must you be that harsh?!"

Ruvik allowed his hands to do the talking, applying even more pressure on the wound. The scientist smiled in sadistic ecstasy at the woman's cry of pain.

Out of reflex, Sofia threw her right arm back in anger, hitting the right side of Ruben's face, which was mostly covered by sensitive and scarred skin. It was the man's turn to howl in pain as he drew back from the woman.

Sofia was quick to turn her head and glare at Ruben from over her shoulder. "You should be more careful, Ruben. It's very easy to hurt someone as  _sensitive_  as you."

Ruvik snarled in anger and started to stalk toward the woman who was already on her feet in front of the surgery table, matching his irate expression with a burning and defiant stare. The scientist's body was almost touching hers when he finally stopped moving and both stood still for some moments, glaring at each other with passionate rage.

The scientist was the first to move, quickly raising his hands to dig his fingers on the wound in the woman's back.

At the same time that a pained cry broke free from Sofia's lips, her own hands raised to the man's body, scratching the sensitive skin from his throat and prompting him to mimic her agonized scream.

Both increased the pressure in their hands, hurting the other as much as they could.

It wasn't long before one of them passed out.

* * *

Sofia's unconscious body was laid on the surgery table with an IV drip connected to her, pumping a steady dose of one of Ruvik's homemade drugs. It acted on the central nervous system, reducing the person to a state of unconsciousness, but it didn't affect the peripheral receptors of contact, pain and heat, allowing the person to feel whatever was done to them.

Ruvik worked with deliberate calm as he stitched Sofia's abdominal wound closed, enjoying deeply the small whimpers of pain that would escape her lips.

He took his time admiring and probing the wounds in her body. The vertical slash on her abdomen - which followed perfectly her linea alba, stretching from just below the navel to her xiphoid process – the small cut on the right side of her jaw, and, of course, the second degree burnt mark on her back, at the height of her T12 vertebrae.

No doubt, she was smart enough to follow his example and look for the corridor's switch from just outside the door or else the first laser beam would've gone through her cranium, following her body's vertical axis, and killed her instantly. It was also her luck that she was a bit on the short side and fell down on her knees after the first beam, for the second trap was a laser sheet that should've cut her body in half instead of just burning her back.

Sofia, he was sure, would've managed to deactivate his traps if she wasn't naïve enough to believe someone like him would leave his research unguarded. If she as much as suspected he had traps in his basement, she'd have searched for a way to disarm them instead of expecting the wall for just the light switch.

Ruvik didn't know how to feel about all that.

On one hand, he was relieved that she survived and he didn't lose the one scientist that actually contributed to his research on the STEM, be it through her little mice or by brain-storming with him during late hours in Beacon's laboratories. Also, if there was someone's company he could admit to appreciate, it would be hers. Sofia didn't bother him with innocuous conversations, nor did she ever try to parasite his money and ideas like Jimenez. All he gave her – be it a salary raise or better research materials – was of his own volition; she didn't even know that the current little perks she was receiving in the job at Beacon came directly from him. All they talked about – be it the STEM, Medicine in general or even Philosophy - was of Ruben's interest. And she never demonized his total disregard for people's well-being; on the contrary, many times, she would lead him on with her own sarcastic comments and, though she surely believe him to be jesting when he said he'd kill each and every of those useless vermin in Beacon if he could, it was very refreshing to find someone so outwardly misanthropic.

On the other hand, he didn't like it at all that someone had survived his traps. Ruvik enjoyed having control over everything that belonged to him and having someone disobey him - in his home nonetheless - and survive didn't please him in the least.

And yet, he had just finished taking care of the slashs in her abdomen and face.

Ruben authimatically scowled as he roughly turned Sofia's body so she was lying on her stomach and he could stare at the wound on her back.

The burnt mark on her back was his personal favourite, if only because it made her a little bit more like him. Granted, it should heal nicely and leave a healthy scar, unlike the ones he bore, which would always end up reopening and bringing him more pain, but it still would leave a mark. As he observed the large blisters on her skin, he couldn't help but smile. It was almost as if he had branded her.

Ruvik turned the doctor's body again, deciding not to take care of that particular wound. He wanted it to leave a nice mark –  _his_ mark – on her.

Silently, the man took a step back and stood by the autopsy table, watching the sleeping woman with an eerie fascination. It was the first time he ever had some _one_  instead of some _thing_  on one of his tables, and he felt a rush of power that bordered on ecstasy go through him at the knowledge of having the woman completely vulnerable for him. He finally had someone he considered an actual person at his mercy instead of those worthless vermin. In his eyes, Sofia was not an  _it;_ she was a  _she._ And he could do whatever he wanted to her.

A part of him wanted to put her in his Upgrade Chair, then on the STEM system until her brain was nothing more than dead grey clay and then back on his autopsy table so he could dissect every bit of her.

Another part wanted to chain her in his laboratory. To keep her by his side every waking moment, so she could dedicate all of her time to help him develop the perfect STEM system.

And yet, another part of him wanted to lock her in his bedroom and pamper her. It was a small and very confused part, but it existed and it wanted to prize her like a precious pet. It wanted to dress her nicely, play the piano for her, smile at her and brush her hair, just as he did with Laura. But-

Ruben's hand ghosted over the Sofia's leg, caressing her warm skin tenderly from toe to hip, and back again.

-he guessed there was also a part of him that wanted to do things with her he had never wanted to do with Laura.

Sex had never been something Ruvik was particularly focused in. The STEM system required complete focus, leaving the man with little to no time to bother with other matters.

However, Ruben was once a developing teenager and as such had needs and, most of all, curiosity about the matter. Unfortunately, being locked up inside a cold basement to deal with severe emotional and physical wounds didn't provide him many opportunities to explore said emotions. Of course, he had read plenty about the matter during that time and, after finally freeing himself from his father's lunacy, explored thoroughly the bodies of his first females test subjects.

Regrettably, due to his "accident", as Jimenez called it, he was incapable of experiencing the actual sexual act. The skin of the base of his genitalia was much too sensitive for him to engage in any sort of activity that involved intense and repetitive friction, and the area of his hips was full of chronic scars that would surely open if he was to violently slam them in another person's, as he had instinctively wanted to. The only waking sexual pleasure he experienced came strictly from touching his unconscious female test subjects, something that was never quite fulfilling. And the few times he reached orgasms during his lifetime happened when he was asleep.

Due to all of these factors, as soon as his body's hormones stopped raging inside of him it wasn't hard for Ruben to forget about sex altogether, especially since his contact with women was limited to the vermin he studied. And they weren't worth a second thought from the scientist.

But now the situation was different and all of his years enduring sexual frustration came back to him at once. The woman lying in front of him was smart and strong. Sofia was very much worth of his attention-

His hand left the woman's hip and ascended to one of her breasts, grabbing it roughly through the fabric of her bra.

-and her almost naked body appealed to him greatly. And he was sure someone as stubborn and perseverant as Sofia would make for a most satisfying sexual partner-

Ruben looked down at himself and growled, retreating his hand from the woman's body.

-if only it wasn't for his own physical inability to perform.

"Provoking harlot." Ruvik snarled as he walked to one of his cabinets to grab a sheet to throw it over the woman's body. "One day…"

* * *

Sofia woke up feeling cold and hungry.

Slowly and wincing in pain, the doctor sat up and scanned her surroundings, taking in the illuminated room, the absence of Ruben and, lying innocently on the ground-

_My bag._

Tired and in pain, she put her feet on the cold ground and walked to her luggage, taking it from the floor and raising it to her eyes.

_All that trouble because of you, huh?_

It wasn't because of the bloody bag and she knew it. As Sofia put on her own clothes, she thought back about what had happened between her and Ruben and couldn't help but feel the respect, admiration and care she felt for the man dwindle.

Ruben had hurt her. Deliberately.

He had shoved his fingers into her open wound with every intent of bringing as much pain as he could upon her.

_I did the same to him._

But she knew it wasn't so. She had never wanted to hurt Ruben, even when she scratched his sensitive throat with her nails. She only wanted to make him stop. Also, she never backed down from a challenge.

She felt guilty for hurting the man, she honestly did, but that didn't mean she could forgive him for what he had done. She saw in Ruben's cutting silver eyes that he was completely sane and conscious of what he was doing to her, and she saw how much satisfaction it was bringing him. He had enjoyed hurting her.

She was angry with him for that, but she was mostly angry with herself for not seeing how truly dangerous the man was.

_He is a psychopath._

Sofia finally understood Jimenez's warning not to trust their patron. And she vowed to follow his advice much more closely now.

"I see you're finally awake."

The doctor tensed for a second before continuing to pull up her pants.

"Yes."

"You've been asleep for 12 hours. It's 1am from Sunday already."

"Really?" Sofia asked, clearly uninterested. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

The woman finally turned her eyes to the man standing in front of the room's door. Ruben had his arms crossed over his chest and was staring into her eyes with all the intensity of a predator sizing up his prey.

"Don't." Ruben ordered. "Don't you dare to play the unfeeling victim with me. You're as much to blame for what happened as I am."

That made angry fire rise in Sofia's eyes, but her voice remained calm as she spoke. "And how is that?"

"I told you that we'd come and get your luggage at a later time. You came down here at your own risk."

"Risk of tripping down the stairs, I believed. Not risk of having myself killed because of your paranoia regarding your research." The doctor spat before taking a deep and calming breath. "Do you have any idea how deep the repercussions of having such traps installed are, Ruben? It's more than enough to classify you as a menace to people and have you hospitalized in Beacon for good. You're sick, Ruben. Actually sick."

"You haven't experience what I have." The scientist spoke calmly. "You have no right to judge me."

"It's not about judging you. It's about keeping you from harming others."

_And possibly yourself._

"If you mention my traps to anyone, the only person you will have to worry about me harming will be yourself." Ruvik stated coldly. "Just be quiet and let's go upstairs. It's past the time you ate something."

"I don't want to eat anything. I just want to go home."

"You should've come here with your own vehicle then. I doubt you'll find a taxi willing to come here through the storm outside. And you're not borrowing my car."

"I didn't ask for it."

"You were about to."

Sofia sighed; of course, he was right. "Fair enough…"

An awkward silence quickly installed itself between the two and it was more than enough to annoy Ruben. Glaring, the man stalked to the woman's direction and grabbed her face with his right hand, pushing it up so she would stare into his silver eyes. The fear he saw in her own orbs was delectable, but the fake indifference she was trying to use to mask it was beyond enraging.

"Stop putting up this act. You want to fear me; fear me. You want to hate me; hate me. You want to pretend nothing happened; do it. But don't you dare look at me with this fake, submissive look in your eyes. I don't enjoy you playing with me like that."

"It's not playing." Sofia spoke, raising her hands to his wrist so she could pull it away from her face gently. "It's disappointment. I've been spending time with you for weeks now and never truly realized how dangerous you can be. As a psychiatrist, I'm disappointed with myself for such a slip up."

... _And for starting to care for you._

Ruben finally allowed the woman to pull his hand down and away from her face. So that's what it was. She wasn't playing a part as an attempt of appeasing him or pretending that what happened earlier had no impact on her; she was just coping with her own failure and, maybe, putting up some barriers to protect her feelings from him. A part of the scientist beamed at thinking his actions could actually hurt Sofia's feelings, that he meant enough to her for that to be a possibility.

"Well, if you want to wallow in self-pity, be my guest. But do so away from me, I have work to do and if you're not in conditions to help me I don't want you in my laboratories." Ruvik spoke roughly, glaring at her. "I have deactivated the corridor's traps so you can go upstairs."

"Thanks, I guess." Sofia spoke lowly, bending down to grab her bag from the floor all the while forcing herself not to moan in pain and ignore Ruvik's burning gaze following her every movement.

Then, she walked back to "her" room and remained there until 6am, when the storm had dimmed enough for a taxi driver to agree in going to pick her up in the Victoriano's household.

* * *

From his bedroom's window Ruben watched the yellow car drive away with a scowl on his lips.

He was certain Sofia would never return to his home again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the description of the corridor's traps was good enough for you guys to picture what exactly happened there (and yes, I did get the idea from the first RE movie and the RE4 game =.=). And, most of all, I really hope Ruben/Ruvik wasn't too OOC. I tried to keep him as IC as possible while trying to explain a bit of his sexuality. XP
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid


	6. Chapter 6: The Interpretation Of Dreams

" _Oh Ruben, did the thunders awake you again?"_

_From his place, standing at door, head down as he clenched the end of his nightshirt in his small hands, 13-year-old Ruben nodded his head. Laura smiled and pulled the covers, inviting him in her bed._

_The boy wasted no time in accepting the invitation and leaped into his sister's bed, enjoying Laura's welcoming warmth as she pulled the covers over him, before pulling him close to her. He knew their father wouldn't like it, but didn't care; he never understood – never_ _**could** _ _understand – just how wonderful their love was._

" _Are you alright, Ruben?"_

_The boy opened his silver eyes to take in his sister's sweet face, however, as his pupils adjusted to the poorly illuminated bedroom, Laura's features blurred and, before he knew it, he was staring into Sofia's worried eyes._

" _Ruben?"_

_Then, it was Laura again. Her delicate fingers caressing his cheeks with such tenderness it made him close his eyes just so he could enjoy the feeling better. Instinctively, his own hands raised to the girl's face._ _The face he touched wasn't as sharp as his sister's, but it didn't make it any less pleasant to the touch. The skin was soft and warm and it teased him to lower his fingers from cheeks to lips._

" _Ruben…"_

_That voice that breathed out his name in such a husky tone was definitely not Laura's and, when Ruben opened his eyes, he wasn't at all surprised at seeing that it was Sofia's face he was caressing so intimately. But he **was** surprised at finding her eyes closed and her lips apart, letting out a breath of undeniable pleasure._

_And even more surprised at finding he was his grown-self once again, only without the scars. He was the man he was supposed to be, with one of the women he was supposed to be with._

" _Sofia…"_

_At the call of her name, the woman opened her eyes. They had darkened in passionate desire and it was one look too much for Ruben._

_He pounced on her as a cheetah would on a gazelle._

* * *

For the first time in months, Ruben fought against awareness. Even when his stomach growled in hunger and his bladder demanded emptying, Ruben remained in bed, trying his hardest to return to sleep. He couldn't remember when was the last time he had the opportunity to enjoy a dream instead of suffer a nightmare.

But, despite his struggles, Ruben had to face the day as the sunlight intruding through his window illuminated his eyes and foggy mind. The images of his little harlot moaning his name in ecstasy and love and the feeling of her all over him -  _wrapped_  all around him - were slowly replaced by the vision of his bedroom's ceiling and the sticky sensation of his own sweat and semen clinging to his body.

Ruben scowled in disgust at himself before getting out of bed and marching to the bathroom. The loud sound of a door being violently slammed shut could be heard through the whole mansion.

* * *

After his initial anger had passed, Ruvik actually took his time to enjoy his bath and think about his dream.

_Freud would've certainly enjoyed analysing it._

Ernesto Victoriano had always disliked how close his children were and that was something that both confused and angered Ruben as a child. Parents should thrive on their children getting along and do whatever they could to ensure that, instead of trying to push them apart and punishing them for their love. Only after he was much older, both in mind and body, did Ruben understand just what it was that his father feared.

_Incest. Such a powerful word… it would make his status before his beloved church burn to ashes in a blink of an eye._

For many years Ruben believed his father to be completely delusional in his fear. His love for Laura, albeit extreme and passionate in its own right, had always been pure and platonic. Even because he had been a child back then; sex had never crossed his mind, let alone sex with his sister.

_But this dream…_

It made Ruvik wonder if his father had been truly so delusional in fearing the development of an incestuous relationship between his daughter and son. What if Laura had been alive when he hit puberty? Would his love for her have remained pure? His beloved sister was the centre of his everything; it wouldn't be too far-fetched to imagine that, in their isolated home and limited social life, she'd also become then heart of his sexual fantasies. She was gentle, caring, smart, astoundingly beautiful and the only girl Ruben truly talked to. What was there to keep him from loving her as a woman as well as a sister?

_Social conventions. Prejudice. Father's church._

Ruben didn't know what it would've become of them if those vermin hadn't murdered his beloved Laura and would never find out.

_Because she's dead. And in reality, the dead remain dead._

But now he had the chance to find out what he and Sofia could become. The woman was nothing like Laura and, at the same time, exactly like her, both in appearance and personality.

Her black hair was the only feature Sofia truly shared with his sister, but still he'd sometimes look at her and swear it was Laura looking back at him. They had the same fluid and controlled mannerisms and stance, and both could smile so beautifully...

Then, there was the matter of their personalities. Sofia had a fire in her that Laura never really displayed, but both would be equally stubborn and determined when they had their minds set on something. And both were so very altruistic... Indeed, while his sister was always gentle and warm, Sofia hid that side of her behind an unaffected façade; but both cared deeply about others, even more than they did themselves. The one thing that truly diverged in their personality was their finesse when dealing with said others. Sofia was usually bold to a fault – unless she was dealing with her patients, then there was no one as patient and tactful as the doctor – while his gentle sister couldn't bear to speak her mind if she thought it would hurt someone else's feelings.

Surprisingly, that one divergence was the trait Ruben loved the most about Sofia. He had dealt and would continue to deal with fake parasites through his whole life; he deserved to have a person – a  _partner_  – who'd always be true and direct with him. And he deserved not to have to share her with anyone else.

_Yes. I deserve to have her for myself._

For the past three months, Ruben had remained locked in his mansion, trying to bury the astounding disaster that took place during Sofia's visit to his home beneath hours and more hours of work. However, even the STEM that used to so readily put him in a "flow state", wasn't quite managing to take his mind off the woman and his work had been unproductive, at best. More often than not Ruben found himself wondering and hesitating about the idea of actively pursuing Sofia, and he still wasn't certain if he should. Sure, he desired her company more than he had anyone else's since Laura, but he wasn't willing to change his priorities for her. Creating the perfect STEM would always come first.

Still…

_I'm done hiding in here. That's something I'll only decide when I see her face-to-face. And even if I don't, the worst that can happen is that we'll end up spending the night in the laboratory, discussing the STEM. Either way, meeting Sofia will certainly help me refocus my attention on what's really important: my STEM system._

Silver eyes burning in determination, Ruben stood up from his bathtub and reached for his towel.

_Tonight, dear Sofia, we're going to finally deal with our problems._


	7. Chapter 7: Midnight Conversations

For the last months, the research about the STEM system remained completely still. No matter how many nights were spent awake in the laboratories, Sofia just couldn't figure out why her mice died after connected to the STEM and it was frustrating her to no end.

Ruben hadn't even bothered to show up in Beacon to check up on the doctor's progress for the last three months and it only annoyed Sofia further. No matter how bad things had gotten between them when she went to his mansion, Ruben put the STEM above everything, so not having the scientist show up for their usual all-nighters was the ultimate blow to the ego. The STEM system was his brainchild; not having his interest in her research meant he believed her incapable of contributing for it at all.

* * *

"Go home for the weekend, Sofia." Dr Jimenez ordered. "You didn't leave the hospital the whole week. Your brain needs to be in perfectly working order if you wish to understand others'. Your autistic mice will arrive Monday, so you can continue your research then."

"I have sessions with my patients Saturday. And Leslie-"

"Dr Márquez owes me some work days; he can take care of your patients. And Leslie will be fine with me and the nurses for a couple of days. He has grown more independent since you took over his therapy."

Sofia smiled. "It has been six months since I began treating him."

"Yes. And one year and a half since you first arrived." Jimenez put in. "You've been doing a good job, Sofia. Now, go home and get some rest."

* * *

The tired doctor decided to follow Jimenez's advice. She'd just put Leslie in bed, explain to him why she wouldn't be there for the weekend and then go home. She truly deserved to take a couple of days to herself.

"Dr Prieto!" Carlos, one of the male nurses called her as she guided Leslie down the corridor. "I heard you're taking the weekend off. Is that true?"

Sofia smiled politely as the man caught up to them and greeted Leslie with a warm smile. Carlos was smart and good-hearted, and he was one of the best nurses when it came to taking care of Leslie.

"Yes." She answered, never stopping walking. "Dr Jimenez thinks I deserve some time off."

"And I completely agree with him." The nurse said with a smile. "And I was thinking, what better way to relax than take me out for dinner, huh?"

Sofia's smile became a little strained at hearing that. The man's problem? He could be such an annoying flirt.

"Sorry, Carlos, but the only thing I'm taking tonight is the metro home."

Sofia ignored Carlos as he tried to salvage the situation. Instead, she focused her complete attention on Leslie when she felt him tense in her arms and heard him whisper the word 'home' repeatedly, and she couldn't help but cringe internally at her mistake. No matter how many sessions they had discussing the subject, the boy was awfully sensitive when it came to the words 'home' and 'family'.

She knew then that their talk before bed would be very long.

* * *

It was past 7pm by the time Sofia had finished explaining Leslie that he wouldn't see her during the weekend, why that was and how things would be during these days for him. She was about to stand up from the boy's bed and walk to the door when his thin and fragile hand closed around the tip of her white coat's sleeve.

"What is… metro?"

Sofia blinked in confusion, before an understanding smile made its way to her lips.

"Metro is the same as subway: an underground train moved by electricity."

"Train… train… train… home."

The doctor's smile turned sad. "Yes. It's my train home, Leslie."

"Can… Can Leslie take the train home too?"

Sofia petted the boy's white locks and planted a kiss on his forehead.

"One day, Leslie. I promise you."

* * *

Sofia knew that, after a talk like that, there was no way for her to go home for an early night of sleep; she'd just spend her time turning from side to side in her bed, thinking about Leslie's sad words. However, she also had to accept Jimenez's words; there was no way she could make progress on the STEM system in her current state of exhaustion. She had to sleep.

And she knew just what to do to forget about the day's happenings for a night and fall asleep.

Self-medication, something that she avoided as much as possible since it left her completely unfocused during the following day or… drop by a bar, find a man to take home and let out some steam with him until she just couldn't keep her eyes open anymore.

It was not something Sofia did often, nor something she particularly looked forward to. But, some nights, she just needed something physical to stop herself from thinking for some hours and exhaust her body enough for her to fall in a deep slumber.

* * *

Sofia's plan would've worked perfectly, if it wasn't for just one variable she hadn't imagined could ever interrupt her Friday night:

Ruben Victoriano.

At 11pm, Sofia was sleeping peacefully on her bed with a warm body close by when the doorbell rang. The woman mumbled and covered her head with her pillow, praying that the sound had only been an auditory hallucination.

It hadn't.

"You expecting anyone, love?" The man – Harry? – asked, rolling over so he could hug the doctor from behind.

"No…" The woman grumbled.

"Then ignore them. They'll leave eventually."

As if to answer the man, a fist started to slam angrily on the door.

A vey startled and infuriated Sofia shot up from the bed, grabbed the first article of clothing - which happened to be Harry's dress shirt - put it on and stomped to the door.

The man put on his pants quickly and followed her, in all honesty believing he had made a bad call in coming home with the woman. No doubt, it was an angry boyfriend on the other side of that door and Harry was NOT up to fight for a one-night-stand he'd never see again. However, he was not selfish enough to allow a woman to answer to someone slamming violently on her door in the middle of the night by herself; he'd just stay a few feet back and see what would come out of it.

The unwanted visitor had just finished slamming angrily on the door a third time when a fuming Sofia pulled it open, mouth open and ready to calmly curse the person to all seven hells and back. However, when the doctor saw just whom it was standing at her door, the words died in her lips and she couldn't help but gap.

Standing before her was none other than an equally angry and frustrated Ruben. The scientist looked the woman up and down and his glare grew even hotter as he pushed her into the apartment roughly and followed in after her.

Sofia's glare returned as she stumbled back into the apartment's main room. Behind her was the place's living room – small and furnished by a sofa, a coffee table and some books-filled shelves - followed by an even smaller balcony; at her left, there was her bedroom suite; at her right there was no wall, but a small the dining area – table for four. Beyond the dining table, a half-wall showed the insides of her kitchen and a door led to it; it was the largest room in her apartment and very well equipped.

Harry, who was standing at the suite's door, quickly put himself in front of Sofia defensively, all the while cursing his luck for picking up the girl with the problematic boyfriend at the pub.

Ruben's eyes widened in shock and his heart clenched in ire and jealousy at seeing the man – the  _semi-naked man that had undoubtedly just fucked_ _ **his**_ _little harlot_  – emerge from Sofia's bedroom and block her from his reach.

Ruvik's first instinct was to reach in his pants' front pocket and retrieve the scalpel he always carried with him, wrapped in a silken handkerchief and always sharp enough to slice through skin as if it was butter. And reach for his scalpel was exactly what Ruben did, all the while imagining the pleasurable feeling of slicing that man's skin and flesh, bit by bit, until he begged for forgiveness and death. The later, Ruvik would grant happily; he'd slice that Lothario's throat and make Sofia watch just what was the punishment he'd bring upon anyone who dared to enjoy what should be his and his alone.

However, before Ruben could pull the scalpel from his pocket and proceed with his plans, his burning eyes glazed over and his body slackened and dropped to the ground. Sofia was quick to push Harry out of the way and kneel by his side.

"Don't just stand there." She snapped at the half-dressed man whom was watching everything with confused and, frankly, scared eyes. "Help me get him to the couch."

Once again cursing his luck, Harry did as he was told. The woman's despotic voice really left no room for argument.

"What happened to him?" Harry asked as he stood in front of the couch with her, staring down at the unmoving and bandage-covered man. "Is he going to be ok? Shouldn't we call an ambulance?"

"Don't worry; it was just an absence seizure." The doctor explained with a tired sigh. "He should wake up in a few seconds."

As predicted, Ruben's eyelids fluttered open not ten seconds after the words left the woman's lips. It took the scientist some seconds to understand just where he was exactly, but when he did, those silver eyes narrowed murderously as they stared intently into Harry's own wide orbs.

Harry was an athlete – tall and strong – but even so he felt his body freeze in fear at the look he was receiving from the strange man in front of him.

"And who are you?" Ruben demanded of the man, scowling in disgust at him as he forced his body to sit up.

The scientist cogitated reaching for his scalpel again, but then he saw Sofia's worried eyes focused entirely on him and it smothered some of that burning jealousy inside of his chest. That little male prostitute may have enjoyed something he been denied all his life, but he'd never be able to be the centre of the woman's attention as he was at that moment. In his essence, he was insignificant to Sofia and, as such, should be insignificant to Ruben as well. What the brain felt had much more value than what the body experienced.

"You know what? Don't answer that question. Just get your belongings and leave. Sofia doesn't have time to play with you anymore,  _Lothario_."

_But I might need you someday still. Using insane vermin on my beautiful STEM does get boring from time to time._

Harry frowned in confusion at the last term used before shaking his head and opening his mouth to protest, but, before a word could leave his lips, Sofia shushed him as her worried eyes were filled with anger. Before he knew what was happening, she was glaring daggers down at the newcomer as angry words – that were in a surprisingly low and clear tone - shot from her mouth at an alarming speed.

"What is wrong with you, Ruben? What in the world possessed you to barge into my house so late at night? Better yet: what made you come here  _at all_? And on my day off, nonetheless. Do you know the meaning of the word _boundaries_  or do you need me to teach you? Maybe I should download an English dictionary into your brain as well."

"Be quiet." Ruben snarled and stood up from the couch until his chest was glued to Sofia's and he could glare down menacingly at her. "Just get that imbecile out of here. I have important matters to discuss."

Sofia sighed in aggravation and stomped to her bedroom, leaving the two men alone to glare at each other – or, in Harry's case, stare awkwardly at the floor. She returned not two minutes later, wearing a shirt of her own and some pyjama shorts, and carrying Harry's shirt, jacket and shoes in her arms.

"Sorry about this." Sofia spoke to Harry with an apologetic look on her face, offering him his belongings.

"What? You're kicking me out?" The man asked surprised. "You sure you want me to leave you alone with  _him_?"

Ruben's glare doubled its intensity and Sofia noticed worriedly how his gaze went to the very expensive knives set in her kitchen, and back to Harry or, more specifically, his throat.

"Don't worry." Sofia said hurriedly. "Just get dressed and go."

Harry frowned in confusion at the woman, but complied with her orders. If that psycho hit her, it would not be his fault. He had complied with his role as a gentleman and not ran away at the first sign of problem. If the woman chose to kick him out so she could stay alone with an angry ex-boyfriend(?) there was nothing he could do about it.

He just wished both of them would stop hurrying him up with their stares. It was awkward getting dressed under such pressure.

* * *

At least it wasn't as awkward as being literally pushed out of the place by a woman that barely reached his shoulders as she bid goodbye to "Harry".

"The name's Harley…"

* * *

"So that's what you do with your free time?" Ruben demanded as Sofia closed the door behind her. "Whore yourself out for the most muscular and idiotic caveman you find in a bar?"

Now that the prior receptacle to his hate and betrayal had been kicked out from the room, Ruben's rage was quickly redirected at the woman standing in front of him and it took all of his the self-control he possessed not to try and slit Sofia's throat at that moment. He had spent the last three months suffering because he couldn't keep her from his head, while the little harlot went from bar to bar, offering herself like a piece of meat? Disgusting.

The doctor rolled her eyes at the accusation and the murderous glint in Ruben's knife-sharp eyes and walked to her kitchen. There would be no sleep for her that night, so she might as well start the coffee-machine.

"It was a pub." Sofia answered from the kitchen. "And I don't get paid for it so it's not whoring."

Ruvik scowled in a mixture of disgust and confusion as he followed the woman in the kitchen. As much as he wanted to strangle the deceitful harlot in front of him, Ruben couldn't help but feel somewhat entranced by her nonchalance and composure at the moment. While most women would feel embarrassed or even ashamed about being caught in such a situation, Sofia just mocked his accusations as if it was no big deal. She saw no need to explain herself to him and, true to her strong character, she didn't.

"What is it, then?" He asked in a mocking voice, unable and unwilling to finish their talk just yet. "Charity work?"

Sofia sighed. "Ruben, cut the 'pleasantries' and just tell me what you're doing here. Any news about the STEM?"

"No and that's the exact reason I came." Ruben sort of lied. "I went to Beacon not two hours ago to see what minimal progress that useless brain of yours had made on my project, only to find that you took  _a weekend off_. And now I ask: why are you here, engaging in senseless debauchery, instead of working on my STEM?"

The woman's lips were quick to mimic Ruben's scowl.

"First of all: I did not  _take_  the weekend off. My weekends are  _supposed_  to be off; I work on them because I choose to. Second: I've been working non-stop on the STEM system for the whole week. I  _needed_ some time to rest."

"Rest and fornication have the same meaning now?"

"I needed something to get my mind out of things for a while so I could get to sleep." Sofia spoke, turning around to stare at Ruben with a challenging expression. "Now that your curiosity has been satisfied, please leave."

Ruben's narrowed eyes once again darted to the kitchen knives, prompting Sofia to put herself between him and the potential weapons.

"Who do you think you are?" Ruvik growled, raising his silver eyes to glare at Sofia. "How  _dare_  you demand me to leave?!"

"I'm the owner of this apartment and, as such, I have all the rights to demand you to leave." Sofia stated calmly. "If you want to talk to me about the STEM, do it during my working hours."

Ruvik shut his eyes and started to clench and unclench his fists by his sides as he counted to ten and breathed deeply to calm himself. He had to keep himself under control; Sofia was right in her logic, even if she didn't understand the bigger picture here:

Worth it or not, she was his. To do with as he pleased.

However, if he was to show her that, he'd need to do so slowly. Sofia believed she had every right to behave so whorish and, if he was to protest against it directly and show her just how disgustingly she had behaved, she would do so again just to spite him. And, like it or not, Ruvik couldn't just force her to follow his wishes. There would be no value in that. He wanted the woman to accept him on her own and, for that, he'd need to complacent with some of her little misbehaviours.

_For now._

"What if I wish to talk to you about a different matter?" The man asked, voice much calmer and softer.

Sofia's eyes widened slightly in surprise, not only at Ruben's question, but also by his display of anger-management. She could tell he was doing his best not to explode on her and for some strange reason, it made the doctor feel a warm feeling in her chest.

But, it was not enough to make her forget the look of satisfaction in Ruvik's eyes as he hurt her.

"I… I'd still have to ask you to leave." Sofia spoke in a sad voice as she turned her body around to reach into the cupboard for a mug. "I don't want to interact with you again, Ruben. Not unless it is in Beacon, when we are working on the STEM."

"Why?"

The question came in a whisper that caressed Sofia's ear softly. Ruben had walked closer to her, until his front was mere centimetres from her back and she felt a shiver run down her spine at the closeness; and, as much as it bothered her to admit, it wasn't a completely unpleasant sensation.

"You hurt me." Sofia whispered back, tensing when his cold hands settled high on her waist, allowing his thumbs to caress softly the scar on her back, the one she had received in his mansion through the fabric of her shirt. "You  _enjoyed_  hurting me."

She felt the man's grip tighten on her waist and heard him swallow. Then, she heard him speak.

"I… apologize."

Sofia's eyes widened and her whole body flinched at hearing that arrogant scientist apologize to her. Never in a million years would the doctor imagine Ruben lowering himself enough to admit a mistake.

"It has been a long time since I've dealt with people on regular basis." The man continued. "It's a skill that had been rusting inside me for years, decades even. I forgot myself with you that day and for that I'm sorry. I won't let my temper get the better of me again."

_At least, not with you._

With that, Ruben took a step back, giving Sofia enough space to turn around and face him. She stood still and silent for almost two minutes, eyeing him intently, just as he had done to her when she was unconscious in his basement.

Despite feeling annoyed at being stared at as some sort of circus attraction, Ruben stood still as he stared back at the doctor without complaining. No matter that she had betrayed him with that man – he'd punish  _him_  for it one day – he found he still wanted Sofia by his side. She valued and cared about him; about the scientist and the man in him. But, more important, she was  _his_ ; and Ruvik kept what was his.

"Say something." Ruben asked – ordered, really.

"Do you promise to  _never_  hurt me again? Not on purpose at least." Sofia asked – demanded, really.

The man nodded once, never moving his eyes away from hers. The eye contact was intense and, frankly, a bit annoying for Ruben – Sofia would find nothing in his eyes; there was no need for her to waste their time staring at him – but he knew he was winning her over so he refused to break it.

Nonetheless, he was very grateful for the beeping sound of the coffee machine startling Sofia out of their staring contest.

"Eh… Would you like some coffee?" The woman asked in a nervous voice as she awkwardly reached for the coffee pot and poured some of its content in her mug.

"No." Ruben answered, taking a seat at the kitchen's island. "What wines do you have here?"

Sofia pursued her lips as she thought about her very limited wine-collection. She didn't like drinking so she only had some bottles of red wine that were gifted to her, mostly from Jimenez and other co-workers.

"Red." She answered just as she put her filled mug on the kitchen island.

It was Ruben's turn to roll his eyes. "Well, what grapes? Merlot? Cabernet Sauvignon? Carménère? Pinot Noir?"

The doctor blinked at the man. "Whichever one of those are used in the red wine."

"Just-! Where are the wines?" Ruben demanded through gritted teeth.

"On the dining room there's a small wine-refrigerator. Help yourself out."

Ruben angrily pushed himself from the kitchen island and stomped to the dining room, leaving Sofia to search her refrigerator for something to eat. Unfortunately, since she had barely stepped into her apartment during the week, all there was were a couple of eggs, a half-empty carton of milk, some yogurt cups, butter, strawberry jam, pepper sauce, some once-fresh herbs, a Tupperware of cooked rice and some old vegetables. With a pout, the doctor grabbed a couple of yogurt cups and closed the door, mentally telling herself to drop by the supermarket first thing in the morning.

As she sat at her kitchen island and began to eat, Ruben reappeared in the kitchen with a bottle of wine in his hand and a much more appeased look on his face.

"For such an ignorant when it comes to wines, you have a relatively good one." The scientist commented, raising the bottle to his eye-level. "This one is worth drinking. The rest you should pour down the drain."

"Well, I don't like liquor so it's not a problem for me." Sofia commented after a spoonful of yogurt. "You hungry?"

"Not for that. Where's the bottle-opener?"

The doctor stretched back, juggling her body-weight on the tall chair as she pulled open a drawer, from which she retrieved the apparatus and handed it to Ruben. "You shouldn't drink on an empty stomach."

"Do you have actual food to offer me?" The man asked with a scowl, glaring at the yogurt in her hands.

"That's rich coming from someone who only has microwave meals and canned goods in his home."

"I don't have time to cook. But from the looks of this kitchen, it seems you do."

"Sometimes." Sofia admitted, dropping her now empty yogurt cups on the island in favour of raising the coffee-filled mug to her lips so she could take a sip of the bitter drink. "But, as I told you earlier, I spent the week in the laboratory, so I didn't have the time to go buy ingredients to cook an actual meal. However…" The doctor immediately stood up and went back to examine her refrigerator. "I can manage to make you a decent omelette, if you want."

"It'll do."

Sofia sighed and started to retrieve the ingredients from her refrigerator.  _Would it kill him to say please?_

* * *

As Sofia cooked, both scientists started doing what they always ended up doing together: talking about the STEM system. It seemed that, just like Sofia, Ruben had reached the peak of his frustration regarding the project's lack of progress and had gone to Beacon in hopes that one of their usual all-nighters would help him overcome the seemingly dead-end he had hit. At least, that was what he told her.

As usual, their discussion went on for hours, until Ruben's health – or lack of it – put an end to it and, not for the first time, Sofia found herself dragging Ruben to the couch as he suffered from one of his migraines.

* * *

"That's enough for today." The doctor spoke as she handed the man a couple of painkillers. "Both of us need to get some rest."

Right arm draped over his eyes to shield them from the soft light coming from the rising sun, Ruben downed the painkillers in one go, no water needed. "Maybe you should call your little male prostitute, then." He said in a disgusted voice. "To make sure you can go to sleep."

Sofia raised an eyebrow at hearing that. "Why are you being so insistent on mentioning this particular subject?"

_Because you're mine and only I should be allowed to touch you. Even if you don't know that yet._

"Because your explanation for bringing that man here was ridiculous."

"Ruben, I don't owe you any explanations." Sofia stated calmly. "And it was not ridiculous. Sometimes, I need to blow off some steam to get the day's happenings out of my mind. Surely, you k-"

Sofia's eyes trailed down his waist, where his scarred skin disappeared beneath his trousers.  _Maybe not know._

"-can understand what I'm talking about? Believe me when I say that I much rather have a fixed partner and that hooking up with strangers is not something I'm particularly fond of. But what man would settle for my working schedule? None. And, sometimes, it's the only thing that will do the trick. As much as it pains me to admit, human contact is necessary in our lives. That's why you're really here, isn't it? You've been by yourself too long in your mansion and needed to see someone for a while."

Ruben raised his arm from his eyes and stared intensely at the doctor with his knife-sharp silver eyes. If only Sofia knew how close to the truth she actually was.

Then, without saying a word, he turned his back to the woman and shut his eyes.

Ruben heard Sofia sigh and walk away from him. He listened as her feet took her to the balcony so she could close the curtains, then to the kitchen's door and the half-wall's sliding door so she could lock him away from her sharp knives –  _How little faith you have in me, Sofia dear_ – then to her bedroom and back. Before he could demand what she wanted from him now, he felt the weight of a blanket fall over his body.

"Goodnight, Ruben. Wake me if you need anything."

As usual, Ruben didn't answer. But he did pull the cover closer to his body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and that I didn't make Ruben too OOC in it (some OOC-ness, I think, it's unavoidable). XP
> 
> As always, your feedback is extremely valued so, please, do tell me what you think about this chapter. ;D
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid


	8. Chapter 8: New Endeavours

Sofia woke up hours later - well into the afternoon - feeling completely rested. She wasn't surprised or disappointed when she found her living room lacking a certain egocentric genius.

Last night (and morning) was – dare she say it? – normal. More than that, it was nice. Sofia hadn't realized how much she had missed Ruben's company until he spent months avoiding her.

Not managing to keep the smile from her face, Sofia went on with her day. She took a nice and long bath and went out to get some groceries. She decided not to spare expenses in the marked and, that night, she cooked the best dinner she knew how with the best ingredients she found. She had dinner by herself and did something she hadn't time to do for a while: took her time to read a book that had absolutely nothing to do with Medicine.

Sunday was pretty much the same, allowing the doctor to return fully rested to Beacon Mental Hospital to do her work. Leslie and her patients had all been cooperative that day, contributing even more for a very good start of her week.

The seeming constant smile in the doctor's face only widened when, later that Monday, a car of the Jackson Laboratories arrived with her mutant mice.

_This is going to be a great week._

* * *

_This week has been pure hell._

Ruvik shut his eyes and count down from ten as he took deep and supposedly calming breaths and did his best not to lunge a chair at the asinine man standing in front of him. Not only Jimenez had been completely lacking in his obligations in providing Ruvik with test subjects and laboratorial material for the past two weeks, but he was also asking – demanding, really – for more funds to his hospital. Ruvik had not driven two hours from his estate to this hospital at 9pm of a Friday to hear about Jimenez's money problems; he came to demand new test subjects and check upon his little woman and her work.

The scientist was already regretting his decision to drop by the hospital to check upon Sofia's progress with her new mice. From that Saturday in her apartment to this day, Ruben did virtually nothing to advance in his research on the STEM system. All he had done was some twinkling with his Upgrade Chair as to lessen the side effects of using it. With no test subjects and materials, he had no way to experiment on his own theories as to why he had reached a dead-end.

Also, it angered the scientist to admit it, but the woman had frequently invaded his thoughts on the last week, keeping him from completely focusing on his research. Her words haunted him the whole week. She hadn't been wrong when she said the reason he had gone to her apartment was social interaction; not only did he wish to finally come to a conclusion as to what she meant to him, but he was also only human, yet. As such, he had a physiological need for minimum human contact and she was the only acceptable source.

Ruben swallowed when her voice came to his head-

_What man would settle for my working schedule?_

-He could easily settle for her working schedule.

"Ruben, are you listening to me?" Jimenez's grating voice removed the scientist from his personal introspections. "Beacon's suppliers will raise the price on their products. We need you to raise your monthly donations in, at the very least, 8%."

"Get  _Mobius_  to give you the money, Jimenez." Ruben spoke through gritted teeth, hands clenched in tight fists by his sides. "If they can afford to pay you to plagiarize my research, they can afford to pay your suppliers."

Before the doctor could voice a retort, the door of his office was slammed open, successfully startling the two men. Ruvik, who had had enough of everything, promptly spun around, arm raised to strike the imbecile who had dared to invade his business meeting in such a disrespectful fashion, but quickly aborted his course of action when he found Sofia's face beaming up at him. It was the first time he had seen her smile so happily, warmly and-

_-beautifully._

Without a word, Ruben lowered his arm and his gaze. He then noticed that, in her hands, the doctor brought a small rodent.

"It worked." Sofia's happy voice floated into his ears, making something warm rise in his chest. "The STEM system, it worked. I connected Adam here to the god-mouse and he came back alive."

Ruben watched with wide and transfixed eyes, seemingly incapable of moving his body, as Jimenez passed by him and pulled Sofia in a hug, congratulating her on the success.

The woman smiled up at the doctor, mouth open to thank him, but, before she could say a word, Ruben had his right hand around her left bicep and was pulling her roughly down the corridors.

"Ruben, what are you doing? Calm down!"

The man ignored her protests, refusing to slow his pace until they were alone in the empty playroom. Once there, he promptly locked the door and turned around to find the doctor sweetly whispering to the scared mouse in her hands, trying to sooth him as she would a patient. Suddenly, the doctor raised her head to glare up at him and opened her mouth to scold him.

Before she could say anything, Ruben raised his hands to her face and pulled her in roughly at the same time he took a step forward, pushing his body on hers and backing her up against the wall.

Both stared at each other for seemingly endless moments as Ruben dropped his forehead on Sofia's, allowing their breaths to mingle.

"You…"

It was all he managed to breathe out before shutting his eyes and crashing his charred lips over the woman's soft ones.

The kiss, Sofia decided as she held Adam closer to her chest protectively, could be described in two words: surprising and awkward.

Never in a million years had the doctor believed that Ruben Victoriano would ever allow - let alone initiate - a kiss, something that managed to combine lust and love. She had wondered about it, that much she could admit, but she had always assumed that Ruben was asexual due to his lack of interest in anything that didn't involve his research.

_Not that I am much different…_

Also, Ruben hadn't kissed anyone until that moment, of that Sofia was sure. She wasn't about to point it out or anything, but he was a very bad kisser. He pressed his lips too harshly on hers - something that certainly was bringing him pain due to his damaged skin, and he held her face too tightly, forbidding her from tilting her head to the side to mold her lips to his. Sofia was grateful that the man didn't seem to know the concept of French kissing and kept his lips tightly shut. The kiss didn't need to become even more awkward.

_Still, I wouldn't mind doing it again._

When Ruben finally pulled his face from Sofia's, he was panting in excitement at her accomplishment, anxiousness at restarting his human trials with autistic patients, pain at having his mouth pressed so roughly to hers, and nervousness at what he had just done.

The man had no doubts his kissing skills left much to be desired and he felt the awkwardness emanating from the woman in front of him as he made his lack of experience painfully obvious to her, but he couldn't find it in him to stop it. With just a few words, the woman had turned his hellish and unproductive week completely upside down. That day would be marked as one of the turning points in his research on the STEM system and he owed it to her. For the first time in years, maybe even decades, Ruben was truly happy for having another human being with him and he needed to show it to her. Maybe the woman hadn't enjoyed his sudden show of affection but he couldn't care less;  _he_  had enjoyed it deeply.

Both scientists stared at each other intently, as if trying to figure out the other's exact thoughts about what had just occurred between them. After what seemed to be an eternity, Sofia opened her mouth to speak.

"Ru-"

"Be quiet." The scientist interrupted harshly. "Don't say anything. I know it wasn't good, that I don't know how to do it. Just-"

"Would you like to learn?"

Sofia's question shocked Ruben completely and he did not attempt to hide it.

"What you said months ago was true: I don't see you as just a patient. Now, don't ask me exactly what I feel about you because I don't even know it myself. But I do know I wouldn't mind doing this again. If you want to, of course."

Ruben took his time processing what had just been offered him and considering all the possible outcomes to his answer. After long minutes, he dropped his forehead back onto the woman's and pressed his lips to hers again, only not nearly as roughly as before.

"As long as it doesn't interfere with my research." He whispered.

Sofia chuckled.

"I wouldn't dream of it and you know it."

* * *

It took them two whole months to do it again. Both got so immersed in the success of Sofia's experiment that they immersed themselves completely in the STEM research.

Ruvik locked himself in the laboratories of his manor, experimenting and dissecting his now autistic test subjects. One of Sofia's mice may have survived the STEM, but the human brain was much more complex and, as such, required more trials and adjustments. Sofia didn't expect any different and kept spending late nights in Beacon's laboratories, experimenting with her mice and trying to figure out why in the world the STEM worked on them and how to use it to improve their autism disorder.

It was on a Saturday, after an exhausting working marathon in the laboratory that the doctor saw Ruben again. She had arrived in her apartment during the late afternoon, bag of groceries in hand, ready to run herself a bath and get started on a dinner that she believed would be eaten in a calm silence. What she wasn't ready for was to walk in her bedroom and find the scientist lounging on her bed with a wine glass in one hand and her personal laptop on his thighs as he read her latest reports about her research. And she made sure to show it by letting out a startled gasp and jumping about three feet in the air.

"Still haven't discovered why the autistic mouse has survived, I see. Also, no other mice but Adam has managed to get out alive  _and_  without brain damage." The man commented in a bored voice, not raising his gaze to the woman at the door. "What have I been paying you for?"

"Not lodging, that's for sure." Sofia spoke with a scowl, calming her accelerated heartbeat. "How did you get in my apartment? I didn't give you the key."

This time, Ruben graced her with a look from his grey and, at the moment, amused eyes. "You should improve your security. Picking your lock was hardly a challenge."

"And you should call before breaking into people's apartments."

"Where would be the fun in that?" Ruben asked in a bored voice, returning his gaze to the computer's screen.

Sofia rolled her eyes and walked to her bed. She spent some moments just standing there, staring at Ruben as she thought how to deal with him at the moment. Something told her that he had not come to her house to talk about the STEM tonight.

Making up her mind, she crawled on her bed until she was straddling Ruben's ankles, careful not to put her weight on his damaged flesh, and shut the laptop laying on his lap. The scientist raised an interested eyebrow at the woman's antics and with his free hand put the laptop on the side-table. Then, he raised the glass in his hand to his lips and tilted it, allowing the wine to pour down his throat as he stared intensely into the woman's curious eyes.

"What did you come here for?" She asked.

Instead of answering, the man kept draining his glass until there was not a drop of the red liquor remaining, then settled it on the side-table, by an almost empty bottle of wine.

"I told you not to drink so much." The doctor began with a frown. "Your scars-"

"I did not come here for you to play my doctor." Ruben cut her off quickly.

"Why did you come here?"

"You should know why."

Sofia watched as the man in front of her pursued his lips and averted his gaze for a moment, as one would do when nervous. That was all the explanation she needed.

"I see."

Ruben returned his gaze to the woman's eyes and kept it that way as he watched her approach him slowly, crawling over his form carefully, aware that she had to be delicate with him as to not bring any pain to his damaged skin. Ruvik couldn't help but scowl at that. He was the man in the place;  _he_  was supposed to be the one whose actions could be painful, not her.  _She's laughing at me. I know she is._

"Is something wrong, Ruben?"

Taken from his anger, the scientist returned his attention to Sofia. She was staring up at him with worried eyes that asked him if he was alright with everything or if he wanted to stop. Ruben's anger dissolved at that look. He didn't find any sort of mocking amusement in her eyes; all he found was genuine concern for his well-being. She wanted him to feel comfortable, both physically and mentally, with what they were doing.

"No." Ruben said, softening his features. "You may proceed."

Sofia nodded once, giving him a reassuring smile before closing her lips over his. The touch was soft, almost feather-light, but it was more than enough to start a fire in Ruben's pelvic area. He wanted more and he wasted no time in showing it; quickly, he raised his hands to grab Sofia's face and press her mouth to his. It hurt, but he would be damned if he allowed something like that to keep him from his prize.

However, Sofia seemed to agree with his body in disagreeing with him, for she pulled her mouth from him at the same time her hands grabbed his, not allowing him to pull her back.

"Are you in a hurry to go somewhere?" Sofia asked with a sardonic eyebrow raised.

"I'm in a hurry to get you back here." Ruben growled, glaring at her, something that only amused the woman. "You know better than to play games with me, Sofia."

"I don't play when it comes to you. I thought we had established that already."

"Then let's continue."

"Only if you promise to take it slow." Sofia spoke softly, lowering her face back to his. "Your skin is sensitive and I don't want to hurt you. It would take the fun out of this for me if I did so. Let's do this calmly so I can get used to your body."

Slowly, the woman kissed one corner of Ruben's mouth, then the other. She kissed his chin, the tip of his nose and his forehead. Then, she moved to his gauze-warped neck.

"Does that feel good?" She asked against his skin.

Ruben didn't answer because he was sure that if he opened his mouth he wouldn't be able to hold back the moans that were trying to escape him. Even with the barrier of gauze between his skin and the woman's lips, he could feel how warm her mouth was. Years of abstinence demanded him to abort this ridiculous foreplay, push his little harlot on her back and take her roughly, but he knew he couldn't. Now, not only because it would hurt too much to do so, but because she had just told that she preferred it slow. He had come to her place to learn how to please a woman – how to please  _her_ – and learn he would.

Softly, as she was doing to him, Ruben raised Sofia's face from his neck, pulling her mouth to his in a gentle kiss. He felt her smile in the kiss before her mouth opened slightly, allowing her tongue to peek out and caress his lips, asking for entrance. It only fed the fire in him and Ruben was quick to open his mouth to her, allowing her tongue to explore undeterred every corner of his cavern. At the same time, he tried to mimic her movements, first only massaging her tongue, then invading her mouth so he could do some exploring of his own.

Without realizing it, Sofia lost herself on the kiss and relaxed her body, allowing her weight to settle on Ruben's lap and thighs. Automatically, the man tensed and grunted in pain.

The woman was quick to realize her mistake and jump off him and to the unoccupied side of her bed in an almost desperate fashion.

"Damn. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that." Sofia apologised as her eye scanned the man's body worriedly. "I'm so sorry, Ruben. I didn't want to hurt you. Wait here, I'll get you som-"

Ruben growled and threw his body over the woman's so he was lying on top of her, nestled between her thighs. It brought a great deal of pain over him, but it effectively startled Sofia in silence, so it was more than worth it.

"Stop fretting. I'm not made of glass." He spoke, laying his forearms by the woman's head so he could raise his upper body and stare down at her. "Now, I may not be able to support your body-weight, but I believe you'll find no problems in dealing with mine. This position is, potentially, the best for us."

Sofia smiled in amusement. Only Ruben to deal with a bedroom problem as he would with a math one.

"Well, I do prefer be on top." The woman spoke teasingly. "But I'll make an exception for you."

Ruben smirked for a moment. "Good."

Then he descended his lips over hers again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, finally some action between those two! XDXD  
> So what did you think about it? Like it or hate it? Was it too soon? Was Ruben too OOC?
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid


	9. Chapter 9: Unfolding

"Stop sulking." Sofia spoke as she raised a forkful of food to her mouth. "It really doesn't suit you."

"Just be quiet." The scientist ordered angrily before taking a large gulp from his wine. Glasses be damned, he was drinking straight from the bottle.

"It's alright." The woman continued. "I thought something like that would happen if we tried going all the way. You're hurt; there is no shame in that."

Ruben didn't respond; he just took another gulp of his bottle.

The scientist had always found ridiculous how, in the consciousness of some of his male test subjects, he'd find memories about their nightly conquests associated with an immense sensation of male pride. In his eyes, it was pathetic how many men based great part of their valour in their sex lives and capacity to please a woman, as if they were primitive beasts – which, thinking better, they  _were_. But now he could finally understand and relate with that – or, to be more exact, with the opposite of that

 _Incapable of performing the basest act any animal can do_. _How very pathetic you've made me, you disgusting vermin._

For years, Ruvik hadn't felt a surge of hate as he was feeling now.

Despite being the most direct person he knew, Sofia had been surprisingly patient with his physical's hindrances and, most of all, his lack of experience. She instructed him calmly, not once complaining or mocking his ignorance and callowness in the matters of sex.

" _It's just a skill like any other. Practice makes perfect."_ She had said.  _"It may be hard on the beginning, but it's alright. I know you won't back down from a challenge. And I won't either."_

Ruben had been right; Sofia's persistency made for a most satisfying sexual trait. No matter how slow and clumsy their foreplay had been, nor did it matter the wet spots of sweat, pus and a little blood that grew on many areas of his bandaged form or the exhaustion and slight ache his body was feeling afterwards; thanks to her posture, he had enjoyed it immensely.

The problem came when he insisted they performed the act itself.

" _Are you sure your body can take it, Ruben?"_

He had silenced her with a kiss at the same time his hips surged forwards.

The physical pleasure Ruben felt at having her wrapped around him was unprecedented by anything he had experienced to that point and more than enough to tear out a loud and deep moan from his throat. Sofia's own moan of pleasure was much lower than his, but still so very satisfying… he wanted to hear it again.

Out of instinct, Ruben pulled his hips back, allowing something else to mingle with his pleasure.

Pain.

However, at that point, he'd be damned if he allowed himself to stop because of something as insignificant as pain. He wanted to make his little harlot make that sound again.

Ruben moved his hips again and, this time, Sofia followed his lead, helping him to set a slow pace for them. But, as he had dreaded, the pain only increased with the friction. No matter how slow of a pace Sofia tried to set, Ruben couldn't control his movements enough; his thrusts were clumsy, fast and deep. The friction hurt the most sensitive area of his genitals and the slamming of his body on hers hurt his hips and thighs. Soon, pain became agony and quickly overcame his pleasure.

 _Fuck that._  Ruvik had dismissed with clenched teeth and eyes shut, tightening his hold on the woman's body.  _I can deal with the pain. I've been dealing with it my whole life._

Sofia didn't share the man's intentions and suddenly her hips stilled completely, making Ruben halt his own movements and open his eyes to see what he had done wrong.

One look at her worried face told him that was as far as it went.

One look at himself told him he wasn't man enough to give her what she needed.

Ruvik just stood up from the bed, grabbed his clothes and went to the bathroom to take a bath. After spending two hours mulling over his failure, Ruvik emerged from the bathroom, body wrapped by fresh gauze and covered by his usual sharp clothes and shoes, hoping that Sofia would be asleep so he could leave her apartment without a word. However, what he found was the dinner table set and the woman sitting on the couch, dressed only in a tempting red nightshirt and reading a book.

Sofia gave him a small, reassuring smile and moved to take her place at the table.

Ruben sighed and followed after her, but not before returning to the bedroom to grab his half-finished bottle of wine. Next thing he knew, he was taking small bites of food and large gulps of wine, participating in the closest thing to a family dinner he had ever since his sister was murdered.

There was a time, before Ruben became Ruvik, when this sense of normalcy and belonging was all he had wished for. When he was locked in his home's basement, before he understood that what his father was doing to him was completely unjust and twisted, all Ruben dreamed of was being reunited with his parents. He had needed someone to comfort him about Laura's death, but instead he had been cast away like a broken toy, left to rot mentally and physically in his home's underground.

But now… now that this was being given to him so freely, even after his failed performance not two hours earlier, a part of him just wanted to escape. It was difficult and uncomfortable for him to accept that someone was offering him all of this without demanding anything in return. It was too little and too late to reassemble his shattered sanity. Behind his façade of a reclusive and antisocial scientist, there was a sadistic, hate-filled man who only wished to watch the world  _burn_ -

Sharp grey eyes rose to Sofia's face. The woman was eating calmly, eyes fixed on the book open by her plate on the table, leaving herself open to talk but not pressuring him to do so. She had no idea that, in between dreams of companionship and erotic fantasies, the man in front of her imagined himself torturing her mentally and physically until she was completely broken; only to heal her back and begin the process anew.

-However, as far as Sofia never discovered this side of him, Ruvik could enjoy the few benefits being Ruben provided him.

"Sofia."

Quickly, the doctor's eyes shot from her book to Ruben's grey ones.

"Thank you. For… dinner."

"Don't worry about it." The woman responded with a playful smile; Ruben wasn't thanking her for dinner and both knew it. "I enjoyed myself greatly. It was nice, having  _dinner_ with you. You should drop by more often for us to do it again."

Ruben's charred lips twitched in amusement, but there was no mistaking the relieved sigh that left his lips.

"I will."

* * *

A couple of nights later, Sofia had received another night time visit, but it hadn't been from Ruben.

"Excuse me, Dr Sofia Prieto?" A strange and feminine voice called.

Starteld, Sofia paused her motions of unlocking the door to her apartment's building and turned to look over her shoulder at the woman who had called her. It was past midnight, so being approached by a stranger just as she was about to enter home was unsettling to say the least.

"Yes?" The woman asked, narrowing her eyes in a suspicious manner

"Please, calm down. I'm Detective Myra Castellanos." The woman introduced herself, showing her badge. "I'd like to ask you some questions, if you don't mind."

Sofia gave the woman a withering stare. It was past midnight, of course she minded.

"I'm sorry for the time." The Detective apologised, reading her expression. "But it was the only moment of the day I was able to reach you alone. You never leave the Hospital."

The doctor sighed; the Detective had a point.

"I can help, if it's quick." Sofia spoke.

"It is."

"Well, come up then."

* * *

"So, what is this about?" Sofia asked as soon as the door closed behind her.

"You just don't waste time, do you?" The Detective asked with a small smile.

"I don't really have time to waste, as you must've noticed from stalking me." At the surprised look on Myra's face, Sofia elaborated. "Please, how else would you know where I live and how late I leave the Hospital?"

"Fair enough." The Detective conceded.

"Well? What is this about?"

"I'm here to ask about Beacon Mental Hospital." The older woman explained. "I'm investigating about some… inconsistencies in the place."

"What kind of inconsistencies?" Sofia asked, now honestly curious. Jimenez always dealt with great care with the hospital's bureaucracies.

"Inconsistencies with the patients. More specifically, with their whereabouts. A week ago, one of my colleagues from a nearby town called, asking me to look someone up for him. A woman was searching for a daughter she had given up for adoption some 15 years ago and they tracked her down to Krimson City. I did some investigation and found out she was a patient in Beacon Mental Hospital."

"What's her name?"

"Her true name is Sherry Berger, but we believe she was using the false name Angela Ashf-."

"Ashford. Yes. Blonde hair, about 20 years old, correct? She was brought to us by the authorities two months ago, because of a drug-induced psychotic break. We later discovered she had Disorganized Schizophrenia. She had no documents and, when we asked about her family, she refused to answer. I can assure you we treated her the best we could, but, unfortunately, she ran away three weeks ago." Then, Sofia got a wistful look on her face. "It was a real surprise for me. She was adapting so well there… Sorry, but I won't be able to help you find her; I was not the responsible do-."

"Actually, it isn't about Angela that I wish to talk about." Myra put in. "As I asked the staff members for information on her, it surfaced that many patients come and go from Beacon. Many run-aways."

"Yes, I must admit that our Security is lacking." The doctor admitted with a sigh. "Dr Jimenez and I talked about it, but we have no funds to improve our surveillance system. Also, our patients are quite good at escaping. I've never heard a sound at night, and I'm frequently there working in the laboratories."

"However, there are also quite a number of discharges and transferences."

"Surely, someone's recovery isn't a problem." Sofia asked, eyes narrowing. "We never received any complaints about our discharged patients, so I believe they are adapting well to life outside the Hospital."

"See, the problem is: from the 147 discharges and transferences from the last two years, I've only managed to contact 87 patients." The Detective explained. "The other 60? It's as if they just disappeared."

"That's impossible." Sofia spoke firmly. "We only transfer patients to respected hospitals. And our discharges are made when the patient is ready and willing to go, or when their family demands them back."

It was Myra's turn to stare suspiciously at the woman. "We haven't been able to find said families. And the hospitals you've allegedly sent them to deny ever receiving them. It can't be a coincidence that 60 people disappeared from the world after leaving Beacon Mental Hospital. Something must be happening to them, don't you agree?"

Sofia didn't pay the slightest attention to the Detective's innuendo. Instead, she focused on a deep and terrified voice echoing in her head.

" _I saw it. I saw you taking them away and they never came back."_

"Doctor?" Myra called, eyes boring into hers intently. "Something you want to tell me?"

"I-"

_No. It can't be. Jimenez wouldn't do anything to harm our patients._

"I'm sorry, but I honestly can't help you. I'm not in charge of transferences, and the discharges I've made followed all of the protocols." The doctor spoke as she opened the door for the detective. "I think you should talk with Dr Marcelo Jimenez. He's the head of the hospital and can inform you better about these matters."

Myra narrowed her eyes, knowing by instinct that the doctor was hiding something.

"Have a good night, Detective Castellanos."

But it seemed she wouldn't be able to find out what it was that night.

"You too, Dr Prieto."

* * *

Ruvik couldn't understand why he had never thought about using autistic patients as test subjects before. Instead, he kept demanding "normal" brains from Jimenez, brains that came from people with eating disorders, bipolar behaviours or other borderline psychiatric disorders.

He had truly been stupid.

The reason all those people died when connected to him was their lack of adaptiviness. Their brains were much too weak to deal and adapt to his own and, as such, perished under his influence, drowned in the amalgam of his emotions and thoughts.

Autistic people lacked greatly in social skills and intuition people usually took for granted, however they usually had one very redeeming quality: emotional intuition. While they were incapable of reacting accordingly to people's words and actions, they still  _felt_  the smallest changes of emotions and temperament in people surrounding them. That being said, it was to be expected that they'd better survive being connected to Ruvik's conscious; they could  _feel_  him and, therefore, adapt.

Said and done.

Sooner than expected, the first test subject survived being connected to Ruvik through the STEM system, and the scientist was nothing short than elated. Sure, his victim had suffered severe brain damage, but it was still the first sign of advancement he had in months. It was a matter of time before he perfected the STEM on autistic patients. Then, he'd use the information gained to adequate his creation to the "normal" brain as well. He'd finally be ready to perfect his STEM system and connect collective consciousness – no matter whose – without killing people.

_Unless I want to. Then, they will die inside my STEM, victim to the many, many traps laying in there._

But, to accomplish all of that, Ruvik needed more test subjects. Many, many more.

* * *

"Ruben, this is unacceptable!" Jimenez spoke in a loud voice. "I can't afford to give you more patients so soon! I need some for my own experiments with Mobius, and there is no way I can afford to provide for both of us at the same time!"

"Find a way, Jimenez." Ruvik ordered in a calm voice as he removed the brain of his latest experiment. "I want four new test subjects by the end of the month. Two suffering from Autism and two not."

"Ruben, I can't." The doctor denied. "There is already someone snooping around my Hospital."

That had Ruvik halting his movements and raising his sharp eyes to the doctor. "Explain."

"Sofia told me a Detective Myra Castellanos approached her at the door of her apartment late at night, after she left the hospital." Jimenez spoke with a serious and slightly scared voice. "She asked her about what happened to our patients after they left Beacon and told her that most of said patients were now missing. Sofia was very worried about that. I'm afraid she might want to check out her past discharges."

Ruvik felt his stress levels rise dangerously high and, before he knew it, his vision was blurring and his head was throbbing, making him slam his hands on the autopsy table in an attempt to hold his body standing. Used to the scientist's sudden headaches, Jimenez didn't move to help him - in part because he'd only be pushed away, but mostly because he enjoyed seeing the man suffer.

"I don't care what you do, but you'll find a way to bring those patients to me by the end of the month, if you want my research to progress Jimenez. And I know you do, else you won't have anyone's work to plagiarize and show  _Mobius_." Ruvik spoke through gritted teeth; he was already feeling sweat start to drench his clothes and his breathing and heartbeat pick up speed. "I'll deal with dear Sofia and make sure she focuses on my needs instead of meddling with matters that don't concern her."

Jimenez's eyes narrowed at the scientist's choice of words. "What do you mean your  _needs_? What do you intend to do with Sofia?"

Forcing his eyes open, Ruvik glared up at the man with such hate that Jimenez couldn't help but take a step back.

"Just leave me, Jimenez. Now."

* * *

Dr Marcelo Jimenez was between a rock, a hard place and a spike.

On one hand, he needed Ruvik's genius to continue advancing on the STEM system and, more than that, he wished him to finish his research as soon as possible. Once the STEM was perfected, Jimenez's name would be incorporated in Medical History for, no matter how Ruvik despised having his research published in the name of another, he'd rather that than lose his supplier and allow his research to die. Also, the psychiatrist would finally be able to reduce to a minimum his encounters with the crazy scientist. No matter how selfish and presumptuous Jimenez was, reading the descriptions about the torture Ruvik put those people through – people  _he_  gave him – always sickened him. Jimenez knew that Science demanded sacrifices from its faithful followers, but what Ruvik did was just… haunting. Sure, Jimenez had done his fair share of human experiments, but he never  _tortured_ them; in his hands, they were wonderful steps in the infinite ladder that was Science, in Ruvik's, they were victims.

On the other hand, he really couldn't afford to give the scientist more test subjects. He had to keep some patients ready for his own experiments with Mobius. But, more than that, that Detective was snooping around his Hospital like a hound hunting for a fresh prey. She had already planted a seed of doubt in Sofia's head; who knew how much more damage she'd do to his Hospital before she was through?

On the third metaphorical hand, he also had to keep an eye out for Sofia. She could become a nuisance if she decided to investigate the missing patients' whereabouts on her own. Also, he had a nagging feeling that something was happenign between her and Ruben and that was not good. The doctor was doing wonders to the development of his very ethic, mice-tested, STEM system. For the last year, she was practically the only reason his laboratory could afford to publish the articles about the STEM in official scientific magazines. And he did not want to lose that source of recognition any time soon. He couldn't allow Ruvik to make her mind against him. Something that might as well be happening at that very moment…

 _There's just no way out of this…_  Jimenez thought, rubbing his eyes in exhaustion as he entered his home.

"Dr Jimenez, I've been waiting for you."

The man in question startled, taking a step back as his hand flew to the light switch, quickly shedding light in his living room. There, lounging on his couch was a man he did not want to see at the moment: Mobius' administrator.

"Director, what can I do for you?"

"It's not about what you can do for me, Jimenez, but about what  _I_  can do for  _you_." The man spoke in a soft voice. "Mobius has approved of your request for sponsoring. We shall begin constructing a full, human-directed STEM system in Beacon as well. Our workers will be there to start the terrain assessment tomorrow, so we can begin the work as soon as possible. I believe we'll need to dig a new subterranean level beneath the hospital, so it might still take us some months to actually start on the STEM. But when we do start, I hope to see you ready to work."

"Director, this is great news!" Jimenez exclaimed, momentarily forgetting his other problems. "Thank you! My research will not disappoint, I promise."

"Be sure it doesn't."

The tall man stood up, but before he could take a step to the door, Jimenez spoke again.

"Ah! Before you leave… There is a matter of urgency I'd like to bring to your attention."

"And what is it?"

"There is a woman – Detective Myra Castellanos – who has been snooping around in my hospital. She has been asking my staff about our previous patients."

"Someone has finally begun investigating those missing people's whereabouts, huh?" The man seemed completely unfazed by the news. "No need to worry yourself about her, Jimenez. She will be taken care of."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Myra AND The Administrator (I use the term director because I find it has a better ring to it) have made an appearance! I hope you've enjoyed it.   
> Also, we get to see a bit of the fallout between Ruben and Sofia after their first night together. I just hope it was believable... =.=


	10. Chapter 10: Scars Of The Past

"Back again, Ruben?" Sofia asked, not bothering to raise her eyes from her microscope as she heard the door to the laboratory open. It was almost midnight; only one crazy scientist would come to the lab at that time on a Friday night. "It's the fourth night in a row. You should be resting."

The man scowled as he walked up to the woman until he was standing right behind her, bent over her frame so his cheek was touching hers.

"I'm waiting for new test-subjects to be delivered to my home." The scientist explained, pulling Sofia's hair softly so she would move her head to the side and allow him to gaze into the microscope. "I don't have anything to do there for now, so I might as well make sure you do your job right."

_And make sure you're too busy to play detective regarding the origin of my test subjects._

Although, that particular night, he had something else in mind.

"Ever thought that, just maybe, taking care of your health takes priority over the research?" Sofia asked. "Also, I always send you reports about my progress; you don't have to come all the way here to pester me."

Ruvik's hands fell on the table by her sides, effectively trapping the woman where she was. Eyebrow raised, Sofia spun her chair around so she could look into the man's grey eyes and she felt her body grow warm at just how close his face was.

"Come home with me. I have something nice for you." Ruvik ordered. "You're just analysing histological slides. Have someone else do it."

All the warmth Sofia was feeling died and was replaced by a cruel chill. Last time she had gone to the Victoriano manor, she almost died and Ruben hurt her – purposefully and with great pleasure. She never wanted to return to that place.

"Ruben, I have a couple of patients scheduled for tomorrow and your mansion is so far from the hospital…" The doctor spoke, turning her head to the side and down in a mix of shame and nervousness. It was just an excuse and both knew it.

Ruvik pursued his charred lips and his hands tightened in fists on the table. While he usually enjoyed watching people – mainly Jimenez – squirm under his gaze, having Sofia feeling uncomfortable around him and trying to avoid his home left a bad taste in his mouth. She was the one person – the one  _living_  person at least – whose company he desired and he wanted her to crave him as well. He wanted her to  _need_  him, more than she could ever need anyone else, especially that pathetic patient she was always so worried about -  _Leslie Withers_. And, for that, it seemed he'd have to make concessions.

"Your apartment then." Ruben settled, forcing his hands to relax as he erected himself. "Call one of the other researches. Tell them Jimenez wants to have those slides analysed by tomorrow at noon, and that they are to send you a report of the analysis. We're leaving in five minutes."

Sofia blinked up at the man and opened her mouth to protest, but, before any words could leave her, Ruvik's bandaged right thumb settled over her lips.

"It'll be worth it." The man promised with a wicked smirk as his thumb caressed Sofia's bottom lip suggestively. "I did tell you I had something nice for you, didn't I?"

The woman's body temperature rose again, and so did a very interested and curious eyebrow. On their last nights in the lab, Sofia was the one who had initiated any kind of sexual contact and conversation - all short lived due to their focus on the work - and, although Ruben was very receptive to them, he still seemed to be a little unsure of how to react. She never thought she'd live to see the day he would make the first move.

"Where is this sudden confidence coming from?" Sofia couldn't help but ask as she stood up and marched to the laboratory's telephone to dial Rosa Fernandez's number; Rosa was new in the lab, but she knew her stuff when it came to Histology. And she owed Sofia many favours for covering her on Fridays' night-shifts. "Not that I'm complaining. But you seemed to be feeling a bit… out of place lately. I thought it would take more time and persuasion from me to get you to try again- Hey, Fernadez. Sorry to call you so late…"

As Sofia talked on the phone, Ruben walked to a chair on the corner of the lab on which the woman always left her handbag while she worked. Impatiently, he grabbed the thing and returned to the doctor just as she ended the call and started to take off the white coat she was wearing, only to leave it hanging on the back of the chair closest to her.

"All set." Sofia spoke as her right hand moved to take her bag from Ruben's. To her surprise, instead of handing her the article, he grabbed her hand in his left one and started to pull her out of the laboratory. "Ruben?"

"What?"

"Don't you want to give me my bag?"

The man's eyes lowered to the handbag in his hand before he shrugged. "It's not heavy."

Sofia blinked at Ruben's unexpected chivalry but decided not to comment on it. She could see on the tension in his trapezium muscle and on the sweat coating his hand that he was already way out of his comfort zone. For some reason, he seemed to think that he needed to change his behaviour in order to woo her and, while that was a complete absurd, she could see he had spent time preparing himself for that and she didn't want to make little of his effort.

Later, when they were in private and he was more comfortable, Sofia could tell him that she appreciated him doing that extra effort for her, but that it wasn't necessary; she liked him like he was.

But for now, she would just continue to hold his hand in a reassuring grip and smile warmly.

* * *

"That was… wow." Sofia breathed out as she stared up at her bedroom ceiling, her chest going up and down in a hasty pace as she tried to catch her breath. "You sure weren't kidding when you said you had something nice for me. Are you certain this is your first time doing this? Men usually need a lot of practice to get me in this state."

With a dazzled smile on her face, the woman pushed herself up on her elbows so she could smile down at the man lying between her legs with his chin propped up on the end of her belly. Ruben returned her smile with a predatory smirk before opening his mouth to lick his still moisten lips. Unlike Sofia, whom was naked from the waist down, his body remained completely covered by the ever-present gauze and his usual sharp clothes, but it still was a very… stimulating sight for her.

"I think we both can agree that I'm much superior to the men you've been with previously."  _Men that will certainly die by my hands for touching you. "_ Theoretic knowledge can go a long way when you have a brain like mine."

One of Sofia's eyebrows rose at hearing that. "You've been researching about how to perform oral sex?"

Ruben's smirk immediately became a scowl and he turned his face away from her. If his head hadn't been completely wrapped in taught gauze, the woman was certain that she would've seen him blush at her comment. He was uncomfortable and annoyed… and lifting his body away from hers.

"Oh, Ruben!" Sofia exclaimed in exasperation as she sat up to reach for one of his hands and hold it in both of hers softly. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to embarrass you-"

"I'm not  _embarrassed._ "

"-I find it extremely cute-"

"And I'm certainly not  _cute._ "

"-that you're making an effort to please me. But, really, you don't have to do that." Sofia continued, pulling him in slowly until her arms were around his shoulders and her cheek was glued to his. "I know you're not very experienced in this. I know that, earlier this night, you were really stepping out of your comfort zone to play the gentleman-"

"I  _am_  a gentleman."

The woman couldn't help but pull back a little and give him a withering look.

"Fine. I'm not a gentleman." Ruben conceded, sneering down at her as he raised his hands so he could encircle her neck with them. He tightened his hold for a second before losing it so he could caress her skin gently. "But I _can_ be."

"Yes." Sofia agreed, sliding her hands from his shoulders to his wrists. "But what I'm trying to say is that you don't  _have_  to. I like you how you are. If I didn't, we wouldn't be here now."

The man's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You  _like_  me?"

"I think we both can agree that it is obvious that I do."

" _Like_? You  _like_  me? You sure about that?"

"What ar-"

"I don't think you  _like_  me." Ruben interrupted, pushing forward until Sofia had her back on the mattress and he laid on top of her. "I think you're falling in love with me."

Sofia's eyes widened and, before she could deny his claim, Ruben's lips were on hers, swallowing any words she could say. When he pulled back, the woman was flushed and breathless, staring up at him with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to  _embarrass_  you." Ruben repeated her words from earlier with a mocking smirk.

Sofia might have an advantage over him regarding physical experience, but no years of working as a psychiatrist would give her advantage in reading other people's emotions. He had plenty of them lying dormant inside his brain.

"I find it extremely  _cute,_  that you're falling for me."

Again, before the woman could respond, he covered her mouth with his. However, before he could deepen the kiss, she pushed him off and ran out of the room, not paying any mind to the pained grunt that left the man's lips at the rough handling.

Ruben scowled at the bedroom's open door for barely a second before allowing a very satisfied smile to grow on his lips. No one, especially not someone as calm and collected as Sofia would react that way to his words if their feelings weren't as deep as he had claimed. That had completely confirmed his theory; Sofia Prieto was falling in love with him.

And he was enjoying every second of it.

* * *

Sofia spent almost half an hour standing on her balcony staring off in the distance with glazed eyes, not minding that she was wearing only a dress shirt. It was much too dark for any eventual curious eye to make out anything and, even if someone did manage to catch a glimpse of her, she couldn't care less; there was a much more pressing matter demanding her attention.

_Oh god. I'm falling for Ruben._

As a child and pre-teenager, Sofia had dreamed about love just as much as any other girl – maybe even more due to her romanticism, bred by very little social contact with boys and girls of her age and years of reading romantic novels. However, her first year of college had shattered whatever romantic belief she might've had.

Some of the male seniors had a "traditional" bet going on: who'd manage to sleep with the most freshman girls? Naturally, naïve and very drunk on the freedom that came from exchanging her parents' house for the campus' dormitories – as was mandatory on the first year of her college – Sofia had been easy prey. It was a matter of weeks before one of the seniors had her falling head over heels for him.

Sofia went as far as telling the boy she was in love with him and that was when the game had ended for her. He had told her about the bet and confessed that she wasn't the only girl on campus he was seeing. He went as far as apologizing, saying that he hadn't meant for her to fall for him; it had all been for "good fun". It was  _cool_ , right? No harm done; they could still be  _friends_ , right?

Holding back tears, Sofia nodded and lied that it was alright and that she understood and  _of course_  they could still be friends. It was painful but she got a lesson out of that: sex was for fun and not love. It was extreme, wrongful towards men in general and didn't portray reality; she knew, but just couldn't let it go. She had grown to accept and live by that.

Until now.

With a miserable sigh, Sofia buried her face in her hands. "I really screwed up."

"What did you screw up?"

The woman jumped and turned her head to find Ruben standing at the balcony's sliding door, glaring at her exposed lower body.

"Get inside and put some clothes on. I don't want any voyeurs feasting their eyes on you."

Before Sofia could answer to that, Ruben's hand was around her wrist, pulling her into the living room.

"Ruben, wait." She spoke, pulling free from his grip. "We need to talk. About what you said. You were right-"

"Of course I was." There was no mistaking the condescension in the man's voice and, were they talking about a less serious matter, Sofia would've rolled her eyes.

"-But I understand that it wasn't supposed to be like this. I'm sorry. Without realizing, I let my feelings get involved in this and I know that I shouldn't had. It got a bit out of hand, but I can fix it. Just-"

" _Fix_  it?"

At the venomous hiss coming from the man in front of her, Sofia quickly shut her mouth. Ruvik was staring down at her with burning eyes that bordered on lunacy and something told her that she was not the only thing on his mind at the moment.

"There's nothing for you to  _fix_." Ruben continued, advancing towards her with menacing steps until he was right in front of her, holding her face in place with both of his hands. "I'm not a mistake, do you understand? There's nothing for you to  _fix._ I'm not something you can use and let go of at the slightest sign of discomfort! I AM NOT BROKEN!"

Ruben's vision suddenly blurred and his muscles contracted fully for some short seconds before his body started to convulse uncontrollably. Sofia quickly stepped up to him and grabbed his shaking body before he hit the ground. With a lot of effort, she laid him down on the couch , which was - thankfully - close to her. Then she kneeled on the floor and surrounded his head with fluff pillows as extra buffering to his trashing skull. Barely two minutes passed when Ruben stopped convulsing but, as all the times Sofia had to sit through the process before, it seemed like so much longer. It was agonizing.

As soon as Ruben stilled and slowly sat up, Sofia moved so she was kneeling between his legs with her arms around his waist and her head laid on his chest. His heartbeat was completely out of control.

"I'm sorry." The woman whispered softly. "I didn't mean to imply there's something wrong with you. You're not broken – damaged most certainly, but not broken. I don't want to fix  _you_. The problem here isn't you."

Ruben felt his blood pressure decrease gradually and automatically laid his hands around her shoulders, allowing his bandaged thumbs to draw lazy circles on the material of her dress shirt. This woman's affections had a surprisingly calming effect on him.

"Ruben, what happened to you?" Sofia asked in a whisper. "What made you so paranoid and insecure?"

The man's chest expanded as he took in a deep breath and his grip tightened around her.

"You don't have t-"

"My father was a very proud man. Always so concerned with his family's appearance before his precious Church." Despite the low volume of Ruben's voice, there was no mistaking the resentment and loathing in it. "After the fire that killed my sister and made me like this he locked my in the manor's basement. Hiding his traumatized son was a better option than to admit to those cultists that I needed help. He tossed me away like a broken toy. Out of sight, out of mind."

Sofia felt her heart clench at what was being confided to her and couldn't help but tighten her hold around Ruben's body a little, as if to say that she wasn't abandoning him.

"My mother was much too weak-minded to confront him about what he was doing. She just remained silent as I suffered in that cold basement. But she suffered as well; suffered for the loss of her children and the imposed authority of her husband until she couldn't take anymore. Until she lost control and killed both him and herself."

The last part was an absolute lie, but it was the official story propagated by the media regarding the demise of the wealthy Victoriano couple and he would stick to it. Ruvik would never admit to Sofia he was the responsible for his parents' demise; her understanding regarding his sinful nature could only go so far.

"I'm sorry, Ruben."

"Don't be. Their deaths granted me my freedom."

"That's not what I meant." Sofia spoke, pulling from him a little so she could look up into his eyes. "I'm sorry that you had to deal with all of that alone. And I'm sorry for what I said earlier. But I'm here for you."

"You sure you don't wish to  _fix_  that?" Ruben asked bitterly.

"It's hard for me to start, let alone keep relationships." The woman admitted. "That's why I ran away from you earlier. But-"

Sofia bit her lip. What she was about to say would be hard on her but she owed Ruben the effort. After all he shared with her, she had no right to hold back on him due to a stupid failed relationship she had had so many years ago. Ruben's traumas were so much worse than hers and yet here he was, out of his comfort zone and doing what he could – in his own callous way – to keep what they had going. He was not a hormone-driven college boy; if she was indeed falling for him, it was because he deserved her feelings. And he deserved her to be honest with him, just like he was being with her.

"But I promise not to do so again. If I'm really falling for you-"

" _If?_ "

"-I won't fight it." Sofia ended, eyes fixed on his. "You're really important to me and I'm not ashamed of that."

Ruben's sharp eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak but thought better of it and snapped his jaw shut again. Without a word, he grabbed the woman's hand and pulled her up before dragging her to the bedroom.

It had been a long day. He was tired and for the first time in more than 20 years, he would share the bed with a warm and gentle woman. A woman he cared for and whom, in return, cared for him.

He smiled. The night was turning out better than expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, we get a littl glimpse of Sofia's past and of Ruben's feelings towards his parents. :)  
> I hope the bonding wasn't too forced between the two and, as always, that I've managed to keep Ruben reasonably IC. =.=
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid


	11. Chapter 11: Losing Grip On Ourselves

For the first time since… ever, Sofia found herself with a "love life". Of course, hers and Ruben's relationship was the furthest thing from what people would call conventional. They didn't have romantic dinners, they talked more about the STEM than themselves and their moments of intimacy were sparse, required lots of preparation and effort, and happened at wee hours of the morning in Sofia's apartment, after long hours in the lab. Some times Ruben managed to persuade the woman in spending the weekend in his home. Those days, Sofia realized, were the most intimate between them; she steered clear from Ruben's basement, prompting him to do so as well, something that gave them two whole days free of work and STEM, days dedicated only for themselves.

For a whole year, they followed that strange and unconventional routine that, for most, would make for a very romance-lacking relationship, but that was very satisfying for the doctor. Ruben was the most interesting and intense human being she had ever met; no matter if they were talking science, discussing feelings and emotional traumas or if she was nursing him from one of his convulsions or migraines, he always managed to keep her interested.

Sofia's personal life was good.

Too bad it wouldn't continue this way.

* * *

Doctors, nurses and patients scurried away from the corridors as Sofia stomped her way to Jimenez's office. It was completely unprecedented, seeing the always in-control Dr Prieto in that state and, truth be told, quite terrifying.

Sofia was angry. No, she was more than angry; she was damn  _furious_.

Three years she worked like a slave for Dr Marcelo Jimenez. She had worked an average of 60 hours per week, given up vacations and holidays to dedicate herself to his hospital and his research and how did he repay her?

* * *

"You stole my research."

Jimenez jumped in his chair as the door of his office was slammed open and Sofia's menacingly low but clear voice echoed through the room.

"Sofia, please calm down." Jimenez spoke calmly as the woman threw some sheets of printed paper on his desk. "Let me explain."

"Explain what? How you published all of  _my_  original ideas under your name? You didn't even have the decency to change the words. You literally compiled the monthly reports I sent you and sent them to the magazine. Without my consent, Jimenez. You ripped me off."

"I would never do such a thing to you." Jimenez contested in an outraged voice. "As you can see, your name is listed as the main participant of the laboratory's research."

"But the idea of using the autistic mice was mine and the article says it was yours."

"Just for the sake of nonsensical bureaucracies." Jimenez explained. "My name has weight out there, Sofia. To associate your idea to my name was the easiest way to get the article approved by the magazine."

Sofia's eyes narrowed; she was not convinced. But that was no problem, Jimenez didn't need to convince her of the truth of his intentions; all he had to do was take her mind off the subject at hand. And he had the perfect distraction.

"Sofia, I think we both know the real reason you're so upset." Jimenez began in an appeasing voice. "I know you never cared much for bureaucracy and plagiarism. The article isn't what's really bothering you. What's bothering you is the idea of not being the only child anymore."

Sofia couldn't help but frown in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." Jimenez asked, reaching inside his desk's bottom drawer to retrieve the day's newspaper

But the newspaper wasn't from Krimson City; it was from her hometown and one of the local headlines was MIDDLE AGED COUPLE GIVES BIRTH TO A HEALTHY SON.

Sofia didn't waste a second in grabbing the offending paper and examine it with her wide eyes.

_This morning, at 4:32, Dr Dona Prieto, a renowned cardiothoracic surgeon of Racoon City's General Hospital, gave birth to Julian Prieto. Dr Dona Prieto and her husband, Dr Severus Prieto - also a cardiothoracic surgeon practicing in the same hospital – are respectively 59 and 57 years old. The couple, whom had been trying to conceive a new child for three years, managed to do so with the help of fertilization clin-_

Sofia's eyes glazed and she felt her knees weaken. Jimenez wasted no time in pulling a chair close to the woman and she wasted no time in letting her body to fall down on it in a defeated manner.

Her parents had another child and didn't even have the decency to let her know? They went through a very complicated process – pregnancy at her parents' age was full of risks – spent a small fortune in fertilization clinics and artificial insemination, conceived and gave birth to a son – her  _brother_  – and never told her. Time and time again she had reached out to them, trying to restore whatever shred of a family relationship they could have, and never once did they respond to her, let alone mention they were even thinking about having another child. And they had been trying to conceive for three years; ever since she left them and their hospital against their wishes. Was that child a replacement for her? Their new shot at having their surgeon baby? Was that all she was to them? A failed attempt at having the perfect child?

_He tossed me away like a broken toy. Out of sight, out of mind._

Sofia couldn't help but smile acidly at the floor. Never had Ruben's words made so much sense to her.

"Sofia, I'm so sorry I showed that newspaper." Jimenez spoke as he kneeled in front of her. "I believed you knew about your brother. It was very careless of me to show you that news like that. Are you feeling ill? Do you want to take the rest of the day off?"

Sofia opened her mouth but didn't answer. She  _couldn't_  answer; her voice was stuck in her throat and it refused to come out. Unable to speak, Sofia shook her head dejectedly and forced herself to stand up from the chair, newspaper held tightly in her hands. Never raising her eyes from the ground, Sofia dragged her feet across the room and towards the door. Before she could cross it, Jimenez called out to her.

"Sofia, I'm cancelling all of your appointments this afternoon. Please go home and get some rest."

* * *

Sofia did intend to follow Jimenez's advice. She'd drop by her office, grab her things, get a taxi home and bury herself in bed until the suffocating feeling on her chest disappeared. However, once she got in her office she didn't find it in her to follow through that plan. Instead; she sat down on her armchair and stared at the newspaper lying on her desk with glazed eyes for hours on a row. And no matter how hard she fought against the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes, she couldn't keep all of them at bay.

And that was how Ruben found her.

Correction: that was how a fuming and blood-lusting Ruvik scared the life out of her by slamming her office door with enough strength to make it recoil and close again.

"Did you see this?" Ruben snarled as he stomped towards her and threw some printed pages on her desk, just like she had done in Jimenez's office earlier. "Of course you did. And why are you just sitting here? Get up. We're going to have a talk with that parasite. I'll literally burn into that useless mass of neurons he dares to call a brain the consequences of touching what doesn't belong to him."

"Forget it, Ruben." Sofia pleaded in a tired voice. "It doesn't matter."

"What nonsense are you talking about? That cockroach stole your-"

"I don't care!" Sofia exploded, slamming her hands on her desk as she raised her tear-filled and red eyes to Ruben's angry and narrowed ones.

Both scientists stared at each other for long and intense moments before Sofia ended the eye-contact, allowing her body to fall back on her chair and burying her face in her hands.

"I don't care about it. Let Jimenez have the article; it doesn't matter." The woman spoke in a broken voice. "I just… I want to be alone right now."

Ruben's burning eyes narrowed even more. "Are you-"

"Asking you to leave? Yes."

Sofia didn't want Ruben to see her like that; all broken and crying just because her parents had kept a secret from her. Compared to what his parents did to him, that was nothing and she knew he would spare no words in telling her so. Ruben didn't stand weakness and, while overall his unyielding drive was a very appealing trait, she didn't need it right now. She  _couldn't_   _deal_  with it right now.

And that was why she refused to raise her eyes to his again. She just kept her face hidden behind her hands and waited for him to leave her office.

Sooner than she expected he did.

And it made her feel so much more empty.

* * *

It was almost 19:00 when Sofia finally decided to just go home. Ruben had left almost an hour ago and that emptiness in her chest was not getting any better; she'd try to call him from her apartment and apologize for her behaviour earlier.

The doctor had just taken off her white coat and was about to hang it on the back of her chair when someone knocked softly on her door. With a sigh, she halted her action and put it back on.

"Come in."

The door opened slightly, allowing Carlos to poke his head through the gap and smile warmly to her.

"Sorry to disturb you, doc." The nurse began in a soft voice. "I heard you had a rough day, but do you think you could help me with something? It's Leslie."

When had Sofia ever denied a patient, let alone Leslie?

"Sure. What happened, Carlos?"

"Leslie is refusing to eat dinner and go to bed. The boy has been kind of down the whole day, actually. I was wondering if you could drop by the playroom and go spend some time with him before going home? He always brightens up after seeing you."

For the first time in the day, Sofia felt her lips morph into a smile and, to her surprise, it wasn't even forced.

"Of course. I think that seeing Leslie might brighten up my day as well."

* * *

Sofia found Leslie in the playroom, alone if not for the female nurse sitting in front of him and trying to coax the boy into stacking some colourful building blocks. The woman raised her eyes to the door and smiled in relieve at seeing the doctor approach.

"Look, Leslie." The nurse spoke in a childish voice. "Dr Prieto came here to see you."

The boy's face turned to her with a small smile and Sofia couldn't help but smile back. Leave it up to Leslie to turn her misery in happiness in less than three seconds.

"Hello, Leslie." Sofia greeted softly as she sat on the floor by the boy's side. "Can I play with you?"

Smiling, the boy nodded his head and scooted closer to her.

* * *

Ruvik was furious.

As he drove at 100mph on the highway, the scientist couldn't help but play and replay his earlier encounter with Sofia inside his head. He had driven to Beacon during working hours – something he despised doing – for her. He had gone there with the sole purpose of defending her against that miserable parasite and how did she thank him? Spurning him from her presence without as much as providing an explanation or even looking him in the eyes.

Which was very strange, because Sofia always did things for a reason. And she always stared him in the eyes whenever they talked.

Now that he thought about it, her eyes had been red and her face tear-stricken. She had been crying. But crying because of work didn't sound like her; she was as resilient as he was regarding the STEM.

" _I don't care about it. Let Jimenez have the article; it doesn't matter."_

Then what did? What mattered enough to make her cry? He had never seen her cry before.

With a new scowl on his lips, Ruvik performed a very illegal U-turn.

Ruben had questions to Sofia. And she would answer every single one of them.

* * *

As always, Ruvik didn't knock before entering Sofia's office; he just slammed the door open and marched in as if he owned the place.

Only to turn back and stomp out of the room when he found it empty.

He thought that maybe she went home – she had been pretty unnerved earlier that day and it was past 8pm already – but, for the sake of being sure, he grabbed a passing nurse by the arm roughly, making her squeal and raise scared eyes to his bandaged face.

"Where is she?" Ruvik demanded.

"D-Dr Prieto? L-Last I saw her she was with L-Leslie."

Ruvik's sharp eyes narrowed at hearing that. So he wasn't good enough to be in her presence, but a half-witted man was?

" _Where?"_

The nurse visibly flinched at the vicious snarl thrown at her. She knew that she shouldn't answer that,  _felt_  that the man holding her arm in such a painful grip was a danger to Dr Prieto and her patient. But she was terrified and would do anything to make him go away.

"I-In his room. Male ward; room 07-03."

* * *

By the end of the night, Jimenez's betrayal, her parents disregard to her and her small disagreement with Ruben were the furthest things from Sofia's mind. Inside Leslie's darkened room, as she sat on the foot of the bed with the boy lying his head on her lap, all she focused on was the sound of his slow breathing and how soft his white locks were between her fingers. At peace, Sofia allowed her eyes to close and her head to fall back on the wall behind her for support; she was growing sleepy.

So sleepy she didn't notice when the room's door opened slowly, allowing a shadowy figure to creep into their peaceful moment. Didn't see when its razor sharp eyes settled on the fingers that were absentmindedly combed the boy's soft bangs with jealousy burning in them. Didn't see the menacing steps that the figure took towards the boy's vulnerable body. And didn't see a cruel hand reach down to take a handful of the boy's hair.

Only when Leslie cried out in pain and fright as the invader violently hauled him up from her lap did Sofia's eyes snap open in alert.

The image that greeted her sight was of Leslie kneeling on the cold ground, crying as his fragile hands reached up to the hand that was abusing his scalp and pulling him up by the hair as the figure bent its body, gluing his threatening silver eyes to the boy's wide and terrified blue ones.

Before she knew what she was doing, Sofia had leaped from the bed and backslapped Leslie's attacker right on the face. The man howled in pain and fell back on the floor as Sofia kneeled in front of a crying Leslie and pulled him into her arms as she whispered soft words of comfort in his ear.

"It's alright, Leslie. I'm here. You're safe now. You're safe."

Grunting in pain, the figure stood up, burning eyes glared at the kneeled forms in front of him. At the exact moment he took a step towards them, the woman turned her head to finally take a good look at him.

When she finally recognized his bandaged form and cold silver irises, Ruben aborted his movements and dropped his glare. Her eyes were wide and full of tears. In them he could see shock, confusion and, most of all, disappointment. He understood then that the tears he was seeing now had nothing to do with whatever had happened to her earlier that day; she was crying because of him - him and his temper. It brought Ruvik a sick sort of ecstasy, knowing that he could hurt Sofia's feelings so easily, and a part of him wanted to keep going, keep stomping on her heart and exploring her emotions until she was nothing more than a broken mannequin in his arms.

But he knew he couldn't. If he did break her, Ruben knew she would never come back to him, and satisfying his sadism wasn't worth losing her. He had to fix whatever it was he had just broken between them.

Ruben opened his mouth to speak but before any words could come out, a whimper came from the fragile boy in Sofia's arms. The woman quickly broke eye-contact and refocused her attention on the boy crying in her arms.

Immediately, Ruvik's eyes narrowed once again as all thoughts of reconciliation left his mind.

It wasn't his fault he had hurt Sofia's feelings. It was that boy's -  _Leslie Withers._  He was the one that demanded Sofia's attention every day. He was the main reason she couldn't spend nights in his home –  _Sorry, Ruben, I have to go back to the Beacon in the morning and see Leslie_  – or work exclusively on the lab, on his STEM –  _I can't just abandon my patients, Ruben; especially Leslie._ Leslie Withers was the one person Sofia put above him. That dependent, pathetic and autistic excuse of a man.

Suddenly, Ruben's vision went red and next thing he knew he was standing right in front of the patient and his doctor, hand in the air and ready to harm the boy one more time. Ruvik never failed in bringing harm upon others and he was not about to start now.

However, his hand did not land on Leslie one more time. It landed on the woman that put herself between him and his target.

Ruben's silver eyes widened as he watched Sofia fall to the cold floor and his ears twitched as a loud bumping sound reached them. Before he could do anything, Leslie began to scream in what seemed to be a mix of fear and concern as his body rocked itself back and forth.

"Hurt! Hurt! Hurt! HURT!"

A scientist in heart, Ruben couldn't help but examine the boy for some moments. The repetitive movements and words were textbook autism. Ruvik smirked in sadistic anticipation; he knew who would be his next test subject.

The anticipation died when Ruben's silver eyes settled on Sofia's unmoving body lying on the ground. A bloody aureole started to spread on the floor, framing the woman's head and tainting her midnight black hair in scarlet, and suddenly Ruben felt a lancinating pain spike inside his skull making him shut his eyes as colours exploded behind his eyelids. He was about lose consciousness.

And the last thing he would remember before falling to the floor would be Sofia's blood-soaked hair and Leslie's desperate cries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, things were getting to calm for my taste so I decided to spice this up a little. XDXD What did you think about it?
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid
> 
> PS: please don't hate me for the cliffhanger


	12. Chapter 12: New Arrangements

"You can't be serious."

Jimenez sat down on the armchair in his office; his blue eyes were wide and fixed on Ruvik's narrowed silver ones. The scarred man had barely regained consciousness and was already throwing unreasonable demands his way.

"I don't joke, Jimenez." Ruvik stated as he laid closed fists on the doctor's desk, lowering his upper body so he could glare the doctor straight in the eye. "Tomorrow night, you're taking Leslie Withers to my home so I can put him in my STEM."

"Why Leslie? I have many other autistic patients for you to choose from. Just leave Leslie be. He is-"

"Sofia's  _precious_  and  _adorable_  little pet. I know and I don't care. He'll be in my basement tomorrow at midnight, or else I'll find the husband of that Detective Castellanos that Mobius has  _dealt with_  and send him an anonymous letter with very incriminating information about the disappearance of your patients, not to mention his beloved daughter's death. By the time he's done with you, you'll be beaten bloody and locked up in a decrepit prison for the rest of your life, if not dead. Have I made myself clear?"

"…Crystal." Jimenez agreed reluctantly, dropping his face in his hands. "As long as you realize that if Sofia loses Leslie, she loses all of her drive regarding STEM."

A scowl made its way to Ruvik's lips. Jimenez was… right.

It suddenly made so much sense, why Sofia had wanted to try the STEM in autistic mice. It wasn't due to their better skill in perception as he had first thought – which, Ruvik believed, was the reason the autistic test subjects were having an easier time surviving being connected to him through the STEM – but because she wanted to help her precious  _Leslie_.

Ruben felt his chest tighten and his head throb as a burst of burning fury hit him, sudden and fast. It had all been about Leslie. Everything Sofia did for his precious STEM, was because of that pathetic and underdeveloped excuse of a man.

_How could she?! The STEM was_ _**ours** _ _!_

Ruvik's train of thought suddenly made a complete halt. The STEM was  **his**. His and no one else's. What did he care about the reasons of that harlot? As long as she had accelerated his progress on STEM, he didn't. The STEM was his creation, made to return his beloved Laura to him and no traitorous bitch would ever change that.

"Dr Prieto's drive regarding my STEM no longer matters. As of now, she's out of the project." Ruvik settled through clenched teeth.

"What are you talking about?!" Jimenez exclaimed, dropping his hands from his face and inching forward on his armchair. "Sofia is our best researcher!"

Ruvik turned around and stomped out of the room.

"Not anymore."

* * *

Less than an hour after her fall, Sofia woke up inside the Infirmary and – despite the nurses and doctors' protests about having to take her to another hospital so she could take a CT scan of her skull – immediately jumped out of the bed and practically ran to Leslie. She found the boy inside his room, lying beneath his bed, muttering incomprehensible words over and over again as a couple of nurses tried to coax him out.

"It's alright. I got this." Sofia spoke to the nurses, dismissing them with a firm nod towards the door.

As soon as the nurses were out of the room, Sofia was lying on her stomach with her body halfway under the bed. Leslie was so thin he managed to lie on his side beneath the bed, facing her.

"Hey, Leslie." Sofia spoke softly, reaching a hand to caress the boy's face. When he flinched away, she felt her heart clench. "It's alright. It's over now. You're safe."

"No. No. No. No. No…"

"Yes, Leslie. You're alright now."

It didn't work. The boy just continued to whisper to himself as he shook his head from side to side and his hands clenched around fistfuls of his snowy locks.

"Leslie, you can trust me. I'm here to take care of you."

"You're here. You're here…  **He's here!** "

Startled, Sofia quickly crawled back and out of beneath the bed and found Ruben looming at the doorway, glaring down at her with steely eyes.

"Ruben." Sofia all but snarled as she jumped to her feet standing in front of the bed in a protective stance. "What are you doing here?"

The man's gaze settled on her forehead, around which he could see a tightly wrapped gauze that was tinted in blood red at the right side. For a moment, Ruben's anger vanished completely, giving place to nauseating guilt.

"Answer me."

Instead of complying with the demand, the man just turned around and stalked out of the room with Sofia hot on his heels.

* * *

In a matter of moments, both scientists found themselves inside the empty playroom, glaring at each other.

"Well?" Sofia demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"We're done."

The doctor felt all of her gall suddenly leave her as a cold feeling of dread started to climb her chest. Somehow, she had thought they'd work past what had happened.

_I guess not._

If the situation wasn't as serious Sofia would've scoffed at the irony; their romantic relationship would meet its demise at the exact same place it had been born. Not knowing how else to react, she settled for lowering her disappointed eyes to the ground and shrugging her shoulders in feigned indifference.

"Fine." The woman agreed after some moments, raising her eyes back to Ruvik's knife-sharp ones. "Something else?"

Ruben felt his blood boil at Sofia's acceptance of his words. He wanted her to cry and beg him not to leave her, threaten to leave his research and hospital if he didn't reconsider; he wanted her to fight for him.

Like Laura did, until she could fight no more.

But of course the woman wouldn't do so. Due to her upbringing, she was much too self-sufficient for such things. It made him want to drug and chain her to his bed; leave her in an estate of completely dependence towards him.

Instead, Ruvik hurt her back as best as he could.

"You're out of the research. You're no longer allowed to contribute to any kind of work regarding the STEM system or anything related to my original ideas. In other words: you're banned from each and every of Beacon Mental Hospital's laboratories." Ruvik elaborated, taking great pleasure in the almost desperate look on the woman's face. "Also, as of now, Leslie Withers is no longer your patient."

" **WHAT**?!"

Ruben's eyes widened and words suddenly failed him. For all of the time he had spent in Sofia's company and all of the occasions he had pushed her buttons, the woman had never raised her voice like that. It was the very first time he had ever witnessed her lose her cool and allow herself to dive head-first in such burning anger and outrage. It was a beautiful sight that made jealousy surge in his chest like a volcano erupting; it wasn't the loss of him and his STEM that made her feel such powerful feelings, but the loss of her beloved  _Leslie Withers_.

"You have no right to make such a decision. You may be one of the hospital's sponsors, but you're not its administrator." The doctor snarled out, tightening her fists at her sides in anger. "That decision belongs to Dr Jimenez alone."

"I've talked with Jimenez and we both agree that your medical judgement might be impaired regarding that particular patient. You're much too close to that  _man_."

Sofia's eyes widened as she suddenly realized what this -  _all_ of this; from the violent way Ruben had lashed out at Leslie to his current petty revenge – was about.

"You're  _jealous_?" The woman asked unbelievingly.

Ruvik's cold eyes narrowed but he didn't try to deny it. There was no point.

"I'm sorry if seeing my woman constantly thinking about and spending time with another man doesn't sit well with me." Ruben answered through gritted teeth. "You demand me to leave you alone saying that you need time for yourself, with no explanation whatsoever. But as soon as I turned away, you ran to that man's side. You betrayed me, Sofia."

"Do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound right now, Ruben? Leslie is a  _boy_." Sofia spoke in exasperation. "Do you really think I'd ever develop any sort of feelings towards him that are not completely platonic?"

"Betrayal doesn't necessarily involve romantic feelings." Ruvik spoke, regaining his cool. "The moment you chose him over me, you betrayed me."

"I didn't do anything like that. After you left I spent almost two hours in my office,  _by myself._ I was about to go home and call you to apologize. Apologize because, despite being stressed and shaken by a very delicate matter, I regretted how abruptly I had dismissed you. But then Carlos came in asking me to check up on Leslie, saying that he wasn't being himself and, as his  _doctor_ , I did so." Sofia explained, glaring up at Ruben. "Do I care for Leslie? Yes, extremely so. But that never meant I cared less for you, Ruben. But I guess that's of no importance, since you obviously can't understand and accept that you and your STEM won't always be my main priority."

"There's  _nothing_  I can't understand." Ruvik spat. He was glaring back at the woman with equal fire even though, inside, a part of him was starting to see that  _maybe_  he had overreacted. Overreacted when he saw her and Leslie together and overreacted when he started the conversation they were having right now.

Sofia's eyes suddenly lost all of their angry fire, giving place to a tired and bitter sadness. To make things worse, she let out a humourless chuckle that made Ruvik want to snap her neck in two. He started to fear that the outcome of this conversation wouldn't be the one he had hoped for when he started it.

"Unbelievable.  _You're_  unbelievable." The woman breathed out, letting her body drop on one of the colourful beanbags as she stared up at Ruben with wide eyes that, for some reason, unsettled the man deeply. "I just told you that I was sorry, that the only reason I treated you like I did earlier today was because something quite serious had happened to me, and  _that's_ what you have to say to me? That your intellect is so grand you can understand _everything_? I know you've had it rough, Ruben. I know you have a hard time minding other people's feelings – hell, sometimes  _I_  have a hard time doing that – but that's just… You're right."

As Sofia gave him a look of pure resignation and finality, it was Ruben's turn to feel dread grow inside him. He knew what she was going to say and that was honestly the last thing he wanted to hear from her. Even though it had been the first thing he had said to her.

"We're done."

* * *

Ruvik's decision of keeping her from participating in his research didn't falter and his promise of removing Leslie from her care became reality. There were guards 24/7 to keep her from entering the laboratories' premises and the boy's care had been passed upon Jimenez.

At first, the doctor had been relieved that it had been Dr Jimenez whom had been designed as Leslie's doctor for, despite his many flaws, Jimenez was a skilled and competent psychiatrist. However, to her utmost surprise and horror, not three weeks after he had taken over the boy's care, Leslie had regressed to the same estate he was when she met him: scared, suspicious, completely dependent and unstable, and physically unhealthy. She didn't understand. She knew that Dr Jimenez was having regular sessions with Leslie and that the nurses that she had wiped in shape were still taking care of him, despite the sudden reduction of their salaries. Leslie's worsening had to be due to something else.

And Dr Prieto would find exactly what.

* * *

Leslie Withers was especial.

From the moment Ruvik saw those wide blue eyes settle on his precious STEM with a glint of intuitive knowledge, he understood that the boy would be the most valuable of his test subjects so far and, most likely, so on.

Shoulders rested on the wall behind him and hand laid on the tall table by his side, Ruvik watched Leslie sleep profoundly inside one of the tubs and forced himself to let go of his negative emotions towards the patient in favour of an objective and prolific experiment. Petty emotions like jealousy weren't worth affecting his STEM. That machine was his ticket out of this pathetic existence and into the life he was meant to live; his beautiful Laura would be returned to him and Sofia's misplaced love for the boy would be fixed. Everything would be perfect, as long as the STEM was perfect as well.

Ruvik pressed the PLAY button on the recorder on his table.

"Subject's case history cites developmental delays and indicates issue with communication, social cognition and repetitive behaviours. Signs of synaesthesia reported. Genealogy suggests increased susceptibility to external stimuli and pattern adaptiveness. Could you be what I've been searching for all these years? And under my own nose… Unbelievable."

Ruvik walked to the STEM's computer and pulled the lever down.

"There can be no mistake. This one is… compatible."

The rest of the tape was filled by the agonizing sounds of Leslie screaming in pain and fear.

* * *

From the moment that Detective Myra Castellanos had approached her with accusations regarding the whereabouts of the prvious patients of Beacon Mental Hospital, the doctor knew something shady was going on there. Deep inside she knew that the Detective was onto something and that, most likely, that something had to do with STEM and Ruvik.

But the woman's defence mechanisms had promptly pushed those concerns to the back of her mind. She had been working in Beacon for a long time, dedicating herself to her patients and the development of STEM with everything she had, and her relationship with Ruben had finally began to grow. The man was becoming more present in her life, not only as a research partner, but as  _her_  partner. It might've come from her Id, but the fact remained that Sofia wasn't about to risk losing all of that because of one stranger throwing some desultory insinuations her way.

But now… Now Sofia had lost the STEM, Ruben and Leslie. She had nothing to lose and, suddenly, that late night when Detective Castellanos approached her at the entrance of her apartment came to mind with the promise of a way out.

Jimenez would do just about anything to avoid a scandal. Even if it went against Ruvik's wishes.

* * *

Late at night, when the security was loose and the workers were home, Sofia sneaked into Jimenez's office, wherein she would remain for many hours, reading and re-reading documents, emails and correspondence. The doctor only left the room two times and both were so she could run to the closest bathroom and vomit. If the implications of what she read were correct, the doctor she had once respected and admired had been participating in human experimentation with an organization called Mobius for many years now – even before involving himself with Ruvik's ideas – and involved in the murder of a child, Myra Castellanos' daughter.

After she was done with her research, Sofia remained inside Jimenez's office, shocked in stillness as she stared at the runnign computer and the paper-covered desk with eyes red and puffy from vomiting and crying. How could she ignore something as cruel as that for so long?

_All of those people…_

More important: what should she do now? What  _could_ she do to end this… this butchery? Should she try to contact that Detective Castellanos or go straight to the police? Was this matter even in police's hands? Shouldn't she go to some higher authority?

Unfortunately, Sofia wouldn't have the chance to make such decisions on her own.

Suddenly, the door to Jimenez's office had been opened by none other than the doctor himself. He stared at her in shock and tried to stutter some words before an irritated-looking Ruvik stepped up - his usual formal clothing and bandages replaced by a tattered and hooded white coat - demanding why he was taking so long to get in and get the keys. Then, it was be the scarred man's turn to look shocked at seeing Sofia sitting there, surrounded by incriminating papers. But his surprise didn't last more than a second before he roughly pushed Jimenez out of the room and locked himself with her in the office, glaring down at her with accusing silver eyes that promised pain and death.

"You shouldn't have done that, Sofia." Ruvik spoke in a foreboding voice.

"No, Ruben." The woman responded, staring up at him with those red and defeated eyes. "I should've done that a long time ago."

Both scientists remained in a stare-down for long moments, sizing up each other for any sort of clue about what their next words and actions would be. Finally, Ruben pursued his lips and walked to take a seat at the armchair on the other side of the desk, right in front of Sofia.

"What now?" The woman asked, voice trembling in a mix of tiredness, disgust, stress and fear.

"You must imagine the protocol." Ruvik began in an unfeeling voice. "I call Mobius so they send some of their special agents here to deal with you. They wouldn't kill you, I believe. But they'd drug you heavily. Drug you so they could take you quietly to their base, where, thanks to your valuable intellect, they'd most likely offer you an agreement. No doubts they can use all the help they can get in copying my STEM. If you accept, I'm sure you'll be able to live a very comfortable live, if not for that ridiculous voice in the back of your head reminding you every day of the lives you had to sacrifice to get there. If you decline, they'll still use you to advance on their STEM, but as test subject. You'd suffer from mental and physical pain until that brain of yours becomes nothing more than useless grey mush and you're reduced to the estate of a vegetable. Then, every centimetre of your body will be dissected and analysed. No one will ever know what happened to you and there will be nothing left for your parents to bury."

"I don't think my parents will mind much." Sofia spoke, smiling bitterly at nothing in particular before raising her defeated eyes to Ruben's. "I guess you should go and make that call then."

"There are many things I should do, but don't. This will be no different."

The doctor's bitter smile was quick replaced by a surprised and confused expression.

"I'll keep this a secret from them and make sure Jimenez does the same. Your little transgression won't come to their knowledge and Mobius will have no reason to come after you. I'll make sure of it."

"As long as I keep my mouth shut, right?"

"Naturally." Ruvik agreed. "Will that be a problem for you?"

The bitter smile returned to Sofia's lips with full-force. "What do you think, Ruben? Will it be a problem for me to stand by silently as people are tortured and killed? Will it be a problem for me to watch quietly as defenceless people are dragged to some dark room to serve as little rats to your sick experiments? Will it be a problem for me to do absolutely nothing while you and Jimenez  **KILL MY PATIENTS?**! YES, IT WILL BE A PROBLEM, RUBEN! SO YOU MIGHT AS WELL GET THAT SCALPEL I KNOW YOU CARRY AROUND IN YOUR PANTS' FRONT POCKET AND SLIT MY THROAT WITH IT BECAUSE I WON'T STAND FOR ANY OF THIS!"

Ruben's jaw clenched in anger and, for a second, he considered complying with Sofia's wishes. It isn't like he had never fantasized about killing the woman; he had – many times actually – but, somehow, she always came back to him. In those fantasies, her death was never definitive because he never wished to lose her. But this was real life and if he was to follow through with the woman's crazy demand, she wouldn't return to him. This was not his imagination nor his STEM; this was reality, and here the dead always remained dead.

No matter the current status of their relationship, Ruben wasn't ready to let Sofia die, by his hands or Mobius'. He still wanted her to return to him.

"Let  _me_  offer you an agreement then." Ruvik settled, forcing his body to relax as his back rested on the armchair's support. "You keep your mouth shut and I give you something in return."

Sofia scoffed. "What could you possibly offer that would make me even cogitate accepting your offer?"

"I give you Leslie Withers back as a patient."

That, Ruben noted with great jealousy, gave Sofia pause. She was listening.

"Don't be mistaken; he'll still be used as a test subject for my STEM. However, as you just read, he has survived being connected to the machine twice already. His survival is mostly assured and I'm giving you the chance to be there for him when he comes back, crying and scared. Don't you want that? To be there to take care of him like only you can?"

The only thing Sofia wanted at that moment was  _out_. In all honesty, the idea of letting Mobius put an end to her life was the most appealing at that moment. She didn't want to live in a world where she allowed people to die by the hands of some crazy scientists with a God-complex; but, while many would deem that as something noble, Sofia found it coward. Resigning herself to death would be nothing more than what she had done until now: turn away from the problem. Letting Mobius kill her would be nothing more than giving up. And Sofia Prieto did NOT give up.

Ruben had to resist the urge to smile in satisfaction as he watched some fire return to Sofia's eyes.

"You give me back Leslie." The doctor began in a firm voice. "You don't use any people under the age of 30. And you assure me that none of my patients are ever used as test subjects again. They will be completely off-limits."

Jimenez wouldn't like that since he had to manage providing test subjects for both himself and Ruvik, but what did it matter? That innocuous doctor was not in charge here; Ruvik was.

With a smirk on his face, Ruvik stood up from his chair and offered his hand to the doctor. With a scowl on her lips, Sofia took his hand in a none-too-gentle grip and shook it once.

It was like making a pact with the devil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sofia sure knows how to stick her nose in other people's business... XP Don't worry, Mobius and The Administrator will make an appearance soon. ;)
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and please tell me what you think about it (especially Ruvik's portrayal). :)
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid


	13. Chapter 13: A Planted Seed Will Grow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, this chapter might've come out fast (I was on fire with writing this fic in the last couple of days XDXD) however, from now on, updates may take a little longer than usual. T.T  
> It's because I've reached my limit of chapters already written and ready to upload... XP  
> So, from now on, you'll have to wait or me to actually finish writing a whole chapter (usually, I take from 14 to 20 days), before I can post it. =.=

Sofia was used to exhausting working hours. It was something she had lived with her whole life and never complained about it – especially since most of the time, she brought said exhaustion upon herself – but the situation she found herself in was much different and, in all honesty, made her wish to give up. Not two months dealing with Ruvik, Jimenez and their cruel and inhumane experiments and the doctor found herself yearning to drop everything and buy herself an one-way airplane ticket to Switzerland.

However, Sofia was a stubborn woman. There was no way she could simply ignore what was happening in Beacon Mental Hospital and leave Leslie and her patients at Ruvik's mercy. As a doctor and human being, Sofia saw herself obliged to do what she could to, at the very least, minimize the damage Ruvik was sure to inflict upon those innocent people.

Ruben might be completely obsessed with STEM, but a part of him cared about her still and Sofia was determined to use said part to ensure her demands – Leslie as her patient, no usage of her patients and no experiments on people under the age of 30 – were followed. And, if her presence during those atrocities that Ruvik dared to call experiments made him lessen the pain he'd inflict upon those people - if only because he believed it would bring him back into her good graces - she'd endure the torturous visions and sounds of those people screaming and trashing in pain inside those bathtubs full of water as Ruvik played with their minds.

The worst, Sofia found, weren't the tortured scenes she lived nor the nightmares and crying fits that came afterwards, when she was in the solitude of her bedroom. The worst was how a part of her still thrilled at each successful step and advancement their research brought. It brought her immense guilt and self-disgust, but the doctor couldn't help herself; producing knowledge was something that made her warm inside.

And producing knowledge with Ruben simply made her tingle.

She hated Ruvik; hated what he did to those people and hated what he was turning her into.

But she also loved Ruben. Loved the scientist that would speak frankly with her about any topic in the world. Loved the person that treated her both as a sturdy equal and as his precious queen. Loved the man that went through agonizing pain to bring her pleasure in bed, even when, most of the times, he didn't allow her to "bother" – as he so often put it – to reciprocate.

Of course, the woman didn't allow her true feelings to show in front of Ruvik and Jimenez but, somehow, she was sure both of them knew about the struggle going on in her mind and in her heart. She noticed Jimenez's sympathetic and pity-filled glances and Ruvik's predatory stares and, while she knew the first wouldn't dare to mention anything, the latter, she was sure, was just waiting for his chance to make a move. Despite his fragile body, Ruben was extremely resilient when it came to obtaining that which he wished to possess.

She just hoped that, by then, she'd be able to respond to his attack in stride.

* * *

Marcelo Jimenez was many things; ambitious, egocentric, selfish and opportunistic were some of them. Most of the time, those traits made him appear completely without a heart, but it wasn't so. The doctor was just as horrified by Ruvik's cruel experiments as the next person and it truly weighted in his conscience the fact that he was enabling said cruelty.

However, he was still many things and as such wouldn't stop providing for his coldblooded once-apprentice. At least, not as long as he repaid him with fame and knowledge.

But the current situation simply demanded him to do something. Ruvik was forcing his hand in involving Dr Prieto in the dark side of their research like that. Hadn't it been enough to have toyed with her feelings like he did? To have tricked her into falling in love with a psychopath that would never make her happy? To have her being second place to an insane child would never be able to forget the twisted love he harboured for his claimed dead sister? To have her suffering for loving a man that cared only for revenge?

Sofia didn't deserve that. Not only was her a valuable researcher, she was also an appreciated co-worker and, sometimes, friend. The woman was a good person in and out of herself, and didn't deserve to be dragged into such a cruel reality, especially alone as she was. She needed a friend.

Jimenez could be her friend to some extent, but he wouldn't be enough; she needed friends that could ensure her safety when Ruvik's thread thin sanity snapped.

She needed Mobius.

"Director." Jimenez spoke in his cell phone, staring out of his living room window. "We must talk."

* * *

"It seems it'll be just you and me tonight. Jimenez isn't coming."

Sofia glared at Ruben's smirking face as she marched through the door, leaving the darkness of the night and entering the illuminated hall of the Victoriano estate.

"And the people you intend to torture."

"Just be glad they aren't dying anymore." Ruvik spoke in a cold voice, smirk quickly replaced by a scowl. "Come with me. Dinner is ready."

The doctor was taken aback by those words and didn't try to keep her face from showing it. However, with a shake of her head, she quickly regained her composure and resumed to glare at the scientist standing in front of her.

"I'm not hun-"

"Don't even try and lie to me, Sofia. I know you've left Beacon not two hours ago, meaning that you didn't have time to stop to eat and came straight here instead." Ruben stated. "I haven't eaten anything this evening and spent a small fortune ordering food from that Italian Trattoria you like. The least you can do is join me for dinner."

The woman couldn't keep the warmth from spreading in her chest. As expected, Ruben was making it hard for her to hate him. Those sudden moments of dedication and care always managed to make her weak in the knees.

"That was not the agreement, Ruben." Sofia spoke in a clear voice, even though her eyes were glued to the floor.

Approaching his very suspecting prey until his face was centimetres from hers, Ruvik couldn't help but smirk in victory.

"You should know by now that I don't play by the rules."

Sofia raised her eyes to his and immediately knew she wouldn't be able to avoid Ruvik's advances by herself.

* * *

Sofia wasn't surprised at finding the end of the long dining table set for a very romantic dinner. There was everything: candles, classical music in the background, expertly arranged plates of food, expensive china and silverware, and a beautiful, gold-trimmed red Forever Rose laying on top of her plate.

As if the scenery wasn't enough, Ruben made sure to play the gentleman and pull the chair for her.

_It's such a good thing I'm not easily charmed by chivalry._

As she watched the man take his place at the head of the table, right at her left side, Sofia couldn't help but reach for the rose and stroke its lacquer-covered petals. She was nervous.

Those movements only stopped when Ruben's right hand laid on top of hers and squeezed them gently.

"I know you like it." He spoke. "But you can admire it another time, when our food isn't getting cold at each passing second."

Sofia couldn't help but sigh at the condescending tone in Ruben's voice. He always used it when he was trying to get a rise out of her; and frequently succeeded.

But not this time.

"You're right. Let's eat. The sooner we finish this, the sooner we can finish the night's experiments and I can go home."

Ruvik tightened his jaw in annoyance but didn't respond to the woman's meant to be offensive words. He knew it would take a lot of work to get her to lower her guard in his presence again and he had the whole night for it.

After all, Jimenez hadn't been able to provide him with the test subjects for this month's experiment.

* * *

Dinner was a most unpleasant experience for Sofia, but not for Ruben. For the scientist, it was a source of both amusement and anger. It was simply delicious to watch the emotions flick in the woman's eyes – deep and painful emotions that were only there because of him – but, at the same time, it was utterly infuriating how hard she was fighting against her feelings for him. Sofia still loved him, of that he was sure, but that ridiculous and completely useless bit of her mind that she called a conscious was preventing her from accepting the emotion and it bothered Ruben more than it should.

He missed her, tremendously so. Missed their scientific discussions, missed their profound conversations and, most of all, missed their warm and comforting moments in bed. Ruben had taken great pleasure in lying with the woman; be it engaging in the most strenuous – for his damaged body at least - and innovative – they had to contour Ruben's physical hindrances after all – sexual activities or just cuddling. Sofia had made him feel loved and wanted.

And Ruvik wasn't about to allow her to take that from him.

"There is something I'd like to discuss with you, Sofia." Ruvik spoke in a calm voice as he refilled his glass with red wine. "About us."

"There's no  _us_ , Ruben." The woman protested, glaring at the red liquid pouring down. The man had already drank more than enough to be considered healthy; it was truly inconvenient that he was so tolerant to alcohol.

"There will always be  _us_ , Sofia." Ruvik spoke in an authoritarian voice. "Even if I have to inforce it upon you."

"And how exactly do you intend to do that?" The doctor demanded in a scathing voice.

"Quid pro quo, my love."

Sofia opened her mouth, ready to order Ruben not to call her that, but found she couldn't; it made her disgusted with herself, but she simply adored when he called her "love". All she could do was whisper in a low voice.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it's past time you repaid me for the concessions I made for you." Ruvik explained, staring into Sofia's eyes with deadly promise. "I keep you safe from Mobius, make sure that you can keep Leslie Withers as a patient, I ensure the safety of your patients and I no longer use test subjects under the age of 30. In exchange, all you have to do is keep quiet about what I'm doing to develop my STEM."

"You speak as if it is a minor favour I'm doing you." The woman spoke in a miserable whisper, burying her face in her hands. "Knowing the cruelties you commit is quite honestly the worst thing that has ever happened to me."

"Well, I'm doing some very big sacrifices for you as well. And my price has just become a bit more expensive."

"What more could you possibly want?"

Sofia felt Ruvik's cold hands close around her wrists and pull them away from her face. Once satisfied that her hands wouldn't return to that position, he let go of her wrists and laid his palms softly on her cheeks, gently pulling her head up and in his direction so he could stare into her eyes, and she couldn't help but hold her breath. Ruben's silver orbs were burning with frightening intensity and she was torn between running from him and kissing him.

"You. I want you."

She opted for the later.

Despite the sudden and almost agonizing pain of having Sofia's whole body practically hauled at his torso as the woman kissed him with that burning passion only she was capable of, Ruben was immersed in pleasure that bordered on ecstasy. Instinctively, his arms wrapped around the woman's waist, pulling her close until she was straddling him, with her body perfectly flushed to his.

Desire raging inside him, Ruben ignored the ache on his body and swiped his right arm over the table, throwing everything within reach to the ground. The couple barely flinched at the sound of breaking plates and glasses.

Not pulling her lips from Ruben's, Sofia stood up and sat down on the cleared end of the table, widening her thighs so the man could raise himself from his chair and stand in-between them as he pushed her back on the cool surface of the wood. Her hands quickly reached down to his belt and-

The doorbell rang.

The loud and shrill sound echoed in the dining room, breaking through the feverish cloud of desire and bringing some sort of sense back to Sofia's mind, prompting her to halt her motions.

"Ignore it." Ruben growled in Sofia's lips, his own hands reaching up and beneath her blouse to latch on her breasts.

For a second, Sofia considered complying with the order but the doorbell rang again, pulling her conscious back to Earth once more and, this time, she intended to keep it that way. With a very weak will, she pushed on Ruben's chest, making him to take a step back. Forcing herself to ignore the man's grunt of pain, Sofia took her chance and all but ran to the dining room's door, far away from Ruvik's reach.

"You should answer the door." Sofia spoke, using every bit of self-control to keep her voice firm and even. "Jimenez might've managed to come to the experiment after all."

"There is no experiment." Ruvik snarled in a rough voice. "Jimenez didn't provide me with test subjects this month."

The doctor's eyes narrowed at that piece of information and at what it implied. "You honestly tried to lie your way into my pants?"

The doorbell rang a third time, but neither paid much attention to it.

"Don't be ridiculous. My reasons could never be as barbaric as solely raw sex." Ruvik spoke, returning Sofia's glare with one of his own. "I lied so I could express to you my new demands to maintain our agreement. I lied so-"

The doorbell rang a fourth and last time.

"Infernal vermin!"

Eyes blazing in fury, Ruben grabbed a large carving knife from the floor and turned around to stomp his way to the front door with Sofia hot on his trail, demanding him to stop and control himself.

The man violently pulled the door open, ready to drive his knife into the carotid of the worthless cockroach that had sabotaged his pleasurable moments with Sofia but immediately aborted his plan of action when he saw who exactly was standing in his doorway.

"Good evening, Ruben."

At that exact moment, Sofia appeared by Ruvik's side and quickly latched herself around the man's arm, in the end of which the potential weapon was being held as she whispered desperate and angry demands for self-control in his ear. Only after she was sure the scientist wouldn't try to harm the newcomer did she allow herself to actually take a look at the later.

_So tall. And imposing._

The newcomer raised an eyebrow at the woman's sudden appearance. "And good evening to you to, Miss…?"

"Sof-"

"None of your business." Ruvik answered in a cold voice, pushing Sofia behind him and tightening his grip on the knife. "What is it that you want, coming here uninvited?"

The smile that stretched on the man's lips was small, but astoundingly mocking.

"You're being rude, Ruben. Not only to me but also to your lovely… escort there."

Before Ruvik could respond, Sofia had contoured him until she was directly staring up into the tall man's eyes.

"I'm Sofia Prieto.  _Doctor_  Sofia Prieto." The woman introduced herself in a calm voice, nodding politely at the man as she offered her hand for him to shake. "I work in Beacon Mental Hospital as a psychiatrist. I'm not his escort."

"My apologies, Dr Prieto." The man spoke in a regretful voice, reaching for her hand. He took the appendage in his much larger hand, but did not shake it. "I just saw a pretty woman late at night in Ruben's home and jumped to conclusions." Then, he lowered his body at the same time he raised the woman's hand to his lips. "I hope you'll forgive me."

Before the stranger could kiss Sofia's hand, Ruvik pulled her from him, roughly pushing her behind him once again.

"State your business and leave." Ruvik ordered, glaring up at the man with bloodlust in his silver eyes. "Sofia and I have business to attend to."

"Actually, we don't." Sofia put in, taking a step to the side so she could look at the man – the Director – and vice-versa. "We are out of… of…"

_People._

"We have no conditions to perform our experiments tonight." The woman resumed, shaking her head to rid herself of the horrifying images of screaming patients. "I actually should be leaving."

"Working on the STEM, are we?" The Director asked with a curious eyebrow raised.

Sofia stared up at the Director in shock from over Ruvik's shoulder. It did not go unnoticed.

"I'm very aware of the STEM and the experiments that Ruben and Jimenez are performing, Dr Prieto. After all, I'm Mobius appointed administrator for the project." He explained, smiling as recognition dawned on her face when the word  _Mobius_  left his lips. "I thought Ruben and Jimenez would've told you about me." Then, he fixed his eyes on Ruvik's narrowed silver orbs. "More important, I thought they'd tell  _me_  about  _you_."

Sofia squared her shoulders and opened her mouth to invent some sort of reason for the omission of her involvement in the STEM project but Ruvik beat her to it.

"Dr Prieto's involvement in the project is recent and not yet secure. Jimenez thought it would be better if we waited until I was sure that we'd keep her as a permanent collaborator before making any announcement." The scientist spoke in a serious and calm voice. "Sure it isn't a problem for you to have more people working on my STEM."

"Of course not. The more capable minds working for the progress of  _our_  STEM, the better for Mobius. The question is: is she worthy of such a task?"

The answer was immediate and spoken by two voices.

"Yes."

Both men settled their eyes on Sofia at her unexpected answer, but her self-confidence didn't falter. It pleased both of them immensely but only the Director allowed himself to show it.

"I'm very pleased at hearing that, Dr Prieto. I'll be waiting anxiously for your results."

"Now that the pleasantries have been exchange and this matter settled, answer my question, Director." Ruvik spoke in a demanding voice. "What is your business here?"

"Well, a problem occurred with our STEM back at Mobius R&D department and Jimenez hasn't been able to perform his experiments as intended. I thought to bring the unused test subjects to you, Ruben, and see how the STEM in your mansion is working-"

Ruvik glanced behind the tall man and, sure enough, a large black van was parked just outside his gates, right behind an also black BMW.

"-However, maybe tonight isn't the most opportune time for experiments. We'll postpone it."

"Nonsense." Ruvik dismissed, effectively hiding his desperation for new test subjects. "This night is as good as any. I'm always ready to-"

"We'll postpone it, Ruben." The Director repeated and his voice left no room for argument. "You kept Dr Prieto from me. I'm keeping your test subjects for you. Now, if you'll excuse me."

The Director turned around but didn't take one step forwards. He just stood still and looked over his shoulder at Sofia.

"Dr Prieto, you mentioned that you should be returning home, correct? I can give you a lift if you wish."

Sofia shook her head and opened her mouth to deny the offer but Ruvik once again answered for her.

"There is need for that. I'll take Sofia home once she is ready."

The woman immediately glared at the scientist. Ruben had no rights in making her decisions for her.

"That's unusually… chivalrous of you, Ruben. However, I believe I asked Dr Prieto, not you."

Ruvik's sharp eyes zeroed on Sofia's, daring her to go against his answer.

It was a truly stupid thing to do. After all, Sofia Prieto never backed down of a challenge.

"As a matter of fact, Director-" The woman began, turning her head to stare into the tall man's eyes. "-I'm ready to go home right now. If it isn't a bother for you, I'll accept your lift."

The Director turned his body in her direction and smiled.

"It is no bother at all."

But his eyes were completely focused on Ruvik's deadly and revenge-filled silver orbs.

* * *

"You were right, Marcelo. Sofia Prieto might prove to be an useful tool to reign Ruben in."

" _So you've interrupted their dat-"_

"And I have reason to believe she might also prove herself a wonderful addiction to the STEM project. Make sure to bring her next time you come here."

" _Director, Sofia doesn't really understand the importance of our plans. She strongly disagrees with our ways of research."_

"But she is still working with you and Ruben on STEM, isn't she?"

" _Well, yes-"_

"You're already way behind schedule on the STEM. You need all of the help you can get; clean conscious or not."

" _There's no need to get Sofia involved in this, Director. I promise you that I'll deliver you resu-"_

"Bring Dr Prieto to us,  _Jimenez_. That's an order."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here it is: Mobius and the Director! From now on, they'll be a constant presence in this. :)
> 
> As always, please tell me what you think about this. Especially my portrayal of the cannon characters. ;D
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid
> 
> PS: I was extremely tempted to name this chapter "Cockblocked". Unfortunately, my more serious side thought it would be a better idea to copy (once again) one of the chapter titles from the game, since it fits this chapter and all. XP


	14. Chapter 14: Two Lions, One Prey

On the next morning, Sofia had gone to work as she usually did on her Saturdays. However, she had barely set foot in Beacon Mental Hospital when Jimenez appeared in front of her, informing that her schedule had been completely cleared and that a car was awaiting for them outside.

The Director wanted to see her, urgently.

The notion should've terrified Sofia, after all there was always the chance that they'd connect her to STEM and leave her inside it until her brain was completely corrupted. However, Ruben had clearly mentioned that Mobius' first choice for her would be to turn her into one of their own and, while at first that notion had made her sick, now it wouldn't be any different than what she was already doing with Ruben. Actually, chances were they wouldn't do anything at all to her besides collect some background information and threaten her into continuing to keep her mouth shut regarding their inhuman experiments.

She was already working on improving STEM for them, even if she despised every second of it.

* * *

"Dr Prieto, it is a pleasure to see you again."

With a polite nod, Sofia reached for the large hand being offered her and shook it, never moving her analytical eyes from the Director's.

"Dr Jimenez made it clear that my presence here today was of utmost importance." The doctor stated. "But he didn't explain to me why that was."

With an amiable smile on his face, the Director let go of her hand and started to lead her into Mobius' Research and Development headquarters. As they walked through technological laboratories, live-filled hothouses, large administrative rooms and wide corridors filled with people walking from side to side with quick and purposefully strides, the doctor couldn't help but stare wide-eyed at everything around her. This building was every researchers' wet dream.

"As you can see, Mobius is fully dedicated to producing knowledge and new technologies. Here we have the best scientists from all areas collaborating with each other, making everything they can to help humanity progress at an ever fastening pace." The Director explained with a proud voice. "And we believe you are one of these scientists, Dr Prieto."

"You want me to work here." Sofia summarized just as they entered an enormous office furnished with a large mahogany desk with a leather armchair and, some metres in front of them, a small, red-leathered sofa. The wall behind the desk had a strange pattern, full of hollow squares and rectangles that allowed a strong light to leak into the room. "You want me to work on your STEM behind Ruben's back."

"Not at all." The tall man spoke, motioning for her to sit on the small sofa before sitting by her side. "Ruben works here as well, assisting Jimenez on the construction of our STEM. However, as of late, he has been lacking in his obligations to us. We were hoping that your presence here would be a stimulus for him to put a little more effort on performing his duties. But, that is not the only reason we're interest in you, Dr Prieto. I've done some research about you and was utmost pleased at what I found. Your work with that mice-directed STEM was nothing short of perfect; your idea of using autistic subjects was original and contributed greatly for the advancement of STEM; and from what Jimenez told me, in the few weeks you've joined him and Ruben in their experiments, you've already learned everything you had to know about the true STEM. You're a wonderful scientist, Dr Prieto. We're sure that, with your help, we'll make astounding progress on the STEM system."

The doctor spent some moments in silence, regarding the tall man sitting by her side with sharp eyes. Anyone that was involved with the STEM and its human experimentations was not to be trusted. Also, she was already experiencing more than enough with Ruben's cruel experiments; she didn't need to see more people screaming and crying as their minds fell into traps and more traps inside the STEM.

"I don't mean to be rude or ungrateful, but I don't think I can accept your offer." Sofia began in a diplomatic voice. "I'm already overloaded with work as it is. I don't think I can manage to help you as well as Ruben with the STEM. Also, I'm not willing to give up my position in Beacon."

"If it's time you're worried about, don't be. I'll make it for you." The Director assured, laying his large hand over Sofia's knee. The woman couldn't help tense at the contact.

"But Ruben-"

"Ruben won't harass you, Dr Prieto. I promise. I also promise you'll find our experiments much more compatible to the morals and values good people like us share. Mobiu's objective is to help people, not torture them."

Sofia's eyes all but shone at hearing that.

"While, regretfully, we can't help but use human beings as our test subjects, we assure they are provided with the best physiologic and psychological support our generous resources can provide. Now that we've surpassed the barrier of death and people no longer die when connected to the STEM, our test subjects are allowed the chance to live their lives past it instead of being used for Histological analysis. Also, here in Mobius we have a much lower tolerance to Ruben's shenanigans. He isn't allowed to torture our test subjects with his gruesome mind-traps as he does in his home."

Immediately, Sofia wanted to accept the offer. If what the Director said was true, she would find herself free of hours of witnessing Ruben fulfil his sadistic needs by torturing the innocent people that were unfortunate enough to be chosen for his experiments. However…

"I can't. Ruben would retaliate." Sofia sighed. "The only reason I'm being complacent to his human experiments is because he's accommodating some demands of mine."

"What demands?" The Director asked, retreating his hands as he laid his back on the sofa.

"He doesn't use any of my patients nor anyone under the age of 30. And I get to keep treating an old patient of mine that he had Jimenez remove from my care some months ago."

The condescending smile that grew in the Director's lips was both infuriating and reassuring.

"Sofia – you don't mind me calling Sofia, do you? – how naïve you are. All of these demands depend solely on Jimenez, and  _I_  have him wrapped around my little finger, not Ruben. The doctor will easily follow these stipulations if I tell him to do so, as well as upping the minimal age to 35 years. And I  _will_  do you this favours, as long as you do me a favour as well." Then, he stretched his right arm, offering her his open hand. "It is not a too shabby of a deal, is it?"

Sofia's eyes switched between the offered appendage and the Director's eyes many times. It truly wasn't a bad deal, but-.

"How can I trust you?"

"You can't. Not yet, at least. Trust is something that must be earned with actions; something friends share. And Mobius is very interesting in becoming your friend, Sofia. And, pardon my frankness, I do believe you need some friends right now. Friends that will be there to help and support you on your decisions."

She did need friends like that. Had needed them throughout a whole life of having her parents pushing her to follow their wishes and completely alienating her when she stopped doing so.

"What do you say, Sofia?" The Director asked, hand still in the air in an amiable offer. "Friends?"

"I guess…" The woman agreed, hesitantly laying her hand in his much larger one. "But I'm not very confident about my presence here being a leverage over Ruben. His beloved STEM has always been and always will be his top priority and no woman can change that."

_With the exception of Laura, of course._

Not letting go of her hand, the Director smiled. "We'll see about that."

* * *

After that, Sofia was reunited with Jimenez for a while. The doctor seemed to be especially ill humoured as he gave her a tour of all of Mobius' laboratories and other research facilities, as if her presence there was bothering and threatening him.

Once the tour was finished, he left her alone in a small room with a large window. Beneath said window was a brown chaise lounge and, right by its side, a matching armchair.

"Am I going to be psychoanalysed?" Sofia asked the empty room as she sat down on the armchair.

As if to answer her question, the door to the office opened, allowing a woman with long brunette hair tied in a low ponytail and wearing thick-framed glasses and a sharp blazer to walk in.

"Good afternoon, Sofia. My name is Tatiana Gutierrez." She spoke in a clear and inviting voice. "If you don't mind, I'll be asking you some questions about yourself. After we're done here, you'll be taken for a physical examination and some tests."

"Is this standard policy here in Mobius?" Sofia asked in a polite tone but made no attempt to raise from the armchair and lay down on the chaise as she was supposed to. "I expected the physical, but no one said anything to me about a psychoanalysis."

Tatiana smiled patiently. "Please, relax. This is not our intention. This interview is only so Mobius can know a bit more about you and understand you better to more easily accommodate your needs. This is for your own good. Think of it as a deep conversation between friends."

"We aren't friends."

"No, but for it to happen, you need to be willing to let us in."

The doctor let out a sigh and stood up from the armchair, allowing Tatiana to take her seat while she laid down on the chaise lounge.

"Fair enough. But I won't answer questions I'm uncomfortable with."

"That's acceptable." Tatiana agreed. "We'll have other chances to have these kind of conversations. As your trust in us builds up, I'm sure you'll feel safe to tell us increasingly more of yourself. Remember, you're always welcomed here."

Sofia felt a sudden sadness in her chest at hearing those last words; how she wished her parents thought the same way.

"Well, let's begin then." Tatiana announced before retrieving a small recorder from her breast pocket, hitting the play button and laying it on her chair's arm support.

"Sofia Prieto, have you ever felt abandoned by the ones you trusted?"

* * *

"WHERE IS SHE?!"

The loud sound of metal hitting against metal and glass shattering assaulted Jimenez's ears as he quickly spun around, wide eyes taking in Ruben's irate form standing right in front of destroyed Erlenmeyer flasks and a fallen Bunsen burner. His silver eyes were filled with blood-lust and his right hand was holding tightly on a sharp scalpel.

"Ruben, please calm down." Jimenez pleaded.

"Don't you tell me to calm down, you disgusting cockroach." Ruvik hissed, taking menacing steps towards the doctor. "I know you had something to do with the Director's uninvited appearance in my home last night. It was because of you that he took Sofia from me."

"Ruben-"

"And now you dare to bring her here?! To hand her over to that conceited puppet of Mobius? Even when I directly forbade you of allowing her to be involved with them? You should've known better, Jimenez." The scientist's eyes were full of promises of pain and death as he leveled his scalpel with Jimenez's throat. "I'll make you pay for it."

"And how exactly do you intend to do that, Ruben?"

Ruvik twisted himself around, quickly aligning the front of his body with the door he had just walked through, and the revengeful fire in his eyes was strongly stoked by what he saw.

There, standing right in front of the door was the Director, with one of his large and greedy hands laid on the middle of Sofia's back in a supportive and protective gesture.

_How dare him to lay his filthy hands on what's mine!_

The tall man stared back at him with a challenging smile; he knew just how much that small gesture bothered Ruben and was enjoying it deeply. This time the tables had turned and Ruvik no longer held the advantage. The STEM was suddenly left in second plan as a new leverage piece was introduced to their power play: Sofia Prieto.

In her, the Director had a capable researcher to advance on the STEM, a very prolific psychiatrist to analyse the test subjects during and after being used on the precious machine and, most important, a valuable hostage.

Ruben was a twisted and sadistic psychopath, but that didn't mean he was void of emotions. On the contrary; inside that man, emotions burned with a frightening intensity that blurred the lines of his control. Hate, jealousy and disgust, all mixed together to create a revengeful man absolutely obsessed on getting back that which he lost and punishing everyone at his reach. But there was also love; a twisted and possessive love that bordered on lunacy and was completely concentrated on his dead sister and the woman standing close to him. All very powerful emotions for the Director to play with - as they should be if he wished for Ruvik's cold and calculating mind to lose a bit of its rationality and give in to emotional blackmail.

Sofia watched the stare-down with tired eyes. Not only did she feel mentally drained from everything that had happened from the last days, but the doctors from Mobius had retrieved a very large amount of blood from her veins and arteries; also, she had completely skipped breakfast that morning, something normal on her day-to-day life but that didn't sit well with blood loss. Her body was feeling weak.

"I think I need to sit down."

The words left her lips in a pitiful whisper, but they were more than enough to grab the attention of the two men locked in their abstract tug-of-war. Ruvik took quick and purposeful steps towards her, reaching out with his free hand to grab her by the arm and pull her roughly to a chair. However, before he could touch the woman, the Director had pulled her away from him, encircling her waist with his arm and pulling her side flush against his as he gave his back to the bandaged scientist to lead her to the chair closest to them.

Ruben saw red and raised his scalpel above his head, ready to murder that disgustingly audacious man that was taking so many liberties with his woman.

Jimenez couldn't allow that.

The Director was already surprisingly lenient with Ruvik's general lack of respect and audacity; however the doctor was sure that an actual physical assault would earn the younger scientist a very severe punishment. Something that would undoubtedly harm their work on the STEM, and Jimenez couldn't afford to get even more behind schedule.

With a speed that betrayed his old age, the doctor reached behind Ruvik and pulled his arm down before the Director could see what he had been about to do.

"Control yourself, Ruben!" The doctor whispered desperately in his ear. "You really want to lose everything because of a  _woman_? All we accomplished with the STEM just because someone else touched something so many others have touched before you?"

Ruben's first instinct was to turn around and drive his blade into Jimenez's carotid for daring to speak of Sofia in such a degrading manner. However, all Ruvik did was scowl and take some deep, controlling breaths. It was a rare event indeed, but sometimes Jimenez did get things right. He couldn't risk his precious STEM, his one chance at bringing his beloved and  _pure_  Laura back just because of a backstabbing harlot. The Director could fuck that tart for all he cared.

_No. I'll kill him if he does. I'll vivisect and tear him apart, layer by layer of tissue, until there's nothing left but his twisted brain. Then, I'll connect him to my STEM and kill him once more. Again and again. Until his consciousness can take no more and breaks down, letting the corruption of my world seep into him and turn him in yet another of my Haunted._

Suddenly, Ruben fell to his knees, grabbing his head between his hands as one of his cluster headaches hit him hard, as if his own body was mocking his fragility and physical incapacity of fighting for what was his.

The fallen scientist heard Sofia's worried voice call his name while the Director demanded Jimenez to "fix" him.

_I AM NOT BROKEN!_

He noticed Sofia kneel by his side and felt her hands fumble with the sleeve of his shirt before the cool metal of a needle pierced his skin. Then, the woman was raising an oxygen mask to his face, covering his nose and mouth.

"Don't worry, Ruben." Sofia whispered reassuringly in his ear as he started to take in deep breaths of the gas. "The pain will end soon."

_No, Sofia. The pain will go on and on. It will continue as long as I live this wretched life that was imposed upon me. I'll hurt until the day I complete the STEM and fix my world. Until the day I finally retrieve the life I was supposed to have._

* * *

After Ruben's crisis was over, he walked away from the laboratory without a second thought or glance. Sofia called his name, but he didn't answer.

"I apologize for this, Sofia." The Director spoke in a sympathetic voice as he took a step to stand by the dejected woman.

"There's nothing for you to be sorry about."

From the corner of his eye, the tall man stared down at the woman by his side, whom was staring sadly at the door through which Ruben had stormed out. It seemed that Jimenez was right; somehow, that psychotic amalgam of traumas and obsessions that was Ruvik had managed to make the caring doctor to fall for him. That wasn't good.  _When_  Mobius finally decided to put an end to Ruben's turbulent collaboration to their project, he'd have to find a way to keep her in the dark. He doubted Sofia would continue to collaborate to their research if she found out they would be responsible for Ruben's eventual "accident". And,  _when_  Ruben finally left their ranks, they would need all the help they could get.

"I think we should call it a day, Director." It was Jimenez whom spoke now, daring to take some steps closer to the tall man. "Sofia has been through a lot in the last couple of days. Maybe we should allow her time to sleep on it."

"You're right, Jimenez." The Director spoke, eyes fixed on the woman's face; she had dark circles under her eyes and her skin seemed to be sickly pale. "Sofia, there'll be a car waiting for you at the exit. Go home and rest for as many days as you wish. Mobius values the health of its members."

Sofia opened her mouth to protest, but the tall man didn't allow her the chance to speak.

"Jimenez will handle your affairs in Beacon Mental Hospital and I'll handle Ruben."

The female doctor turned her eyes to the senior scientist, whom, albeit begrudgingly, nodded in agreement. "I'll attend to Leslie's needs myself, as well as keep him from Ruben's experiments for as long as it's needed."

"I don't think he'll accept it." Sofia began in a sad voice. "I think he'll demand being able to experiment on Leslie as soon as possible to get back at me for coming here. And if I'm not there to face him during the experiments, I'm sure he'll torture him even more inside the STEM. God, those traps…"

Sofia couldn't help but drop her face in her hands in desolation. How could she get involved with someone like Ruben? How could she have fallen for him? There was no way around this. If she resisted and stood her ground, Ruvik's atrocities would slowly corrode her sanity; if she gave up and left everything behind her, she'd be forever haunted by the fate of Leslie and the other patients she left behind. There was just no winning.

"Stop worrying, Sofia." The Director spoke, laying one of his hands on her shoulder. "As I said before, I'll handle Ruben. Leslie and yourself will be safe from him, I promise."

The woman raised her eyes, staring up at the promising man with hope and doubt.

"Why would you do that? Why would you antagonize the creator of your precious STEM like that, just to reassure me?"

"Because you're one of us now and here in Mobius we support our own. That's how we'll earn your trust and vice-versa. We'll be there for you when you need us, and you'll be there for us."

"A quid-pro-quo."

"For now. However, I hope that, with time, our relationship will grow past that and we can truly consider ourselves friends. Make no mistake; keeping our friendship will be very demanding of you Sofia, but I'm sure you'll find it worth it. Jimenez does. All of our people do."

"Ruben doesn't."

The Director clicked his tongue. "Ruben has long rejected our friendship. Instead, he chose to establish between us a sort of host-parasite coevolution. It deeply saddens me when I think about how much smoother everything could've been  _– could be –_ between us. But let's not talk about  _what-ifs_  and  _what-nots_. You, go home and rest. We'll talk more at a later time."

Sofia wanted to argue a little more, but found no strength to do so. Instead, she just closed her eyes and nodded in acceptance, allowing the Director to escort her to the exit and the awaiting car.

* * *

"If anything happens-" The Director began, offering her a black-business card with a sole phone number written in silver. "-do not hesitate to call. Mobius will be there to help you."

"Thank you, Director." Sofia spoke, taking the card from his hand. "I truly hope that I'll be able to trust you. And that we'll become friends in the future."

"So do we, Sofia." The man spoke with a warm smile.

The doctor returned the smile with a small and tired one before entering the car.

As she drove away, the Director's warm smile turned downright predatory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's it for the beginning of Sofia's participatin in Mobius' business.
> 
> Now, I'd like to explain a bitabout Tatiana's appearance in this: while I do know she's described as a former nurse in Beacon however, I totally headcannon that she is a high-officer member of Mobius. Not only she's a very essential charcater inside the STEM (I mean, what would've been of us if we didn't have Tatiana and the hub?) and, in the end of the game, she appears with the rest of Mobius' employees, dressing some sharp-ass clothes, what indicates that she occupies a position of power. About my choice to make her a psychologist: she was dressed as a nurse inside STEM and nurses give support to the doctors, just like therapists do with their clients so... yeah. =.=
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that the characters and plot are still making sense. :)
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid


	15. Chapter 15: Calibrating

After leaving Mobius and returning home, Ruvik went straight to the basement; to  _his_  STEM. For hours, he just stood there, regarding the precious machine with knife-sharp eyes filled to the brim with bloodlust and desire for revenge.

_Those unscrupulous parasites. So desperate to lay claim on_ _**my** _ _creation that they dare to touch and soil the one good thing that still remains in my life. Disgusting vermin. I'll teach you not to trifle with me. You want me to improve my STEM? I will. I'll make it so complex that your underdeveloped minds won't be able to as much as turn it on without my help._

As if startled out of a trance, Ruvikstarted to stalk around the room, turning on computers and retrieving his many tools.

It was time to upgrade his STEM.

_And when I'm done working here I promise you, Director, that I shall dedicate as much time as needed working on your lowly_ _**copy;**  I'll make_ _it just as good as my beautiful original._

* * *

Despite being granted an undefined number of days to rest and unwind, Sofia returned to work three days later, looking as exhausted as ever.

"Sofia!"Jimenez called in surprise as he saw the doctor enter Beacon. "What are you doing here so soon? You should be resting."

"I can't." The woman explained in a drained voice. "I just can't, Jimenez. Sleep avoids me like a disease."

"Have you tried some self-medication?"

"I've tried  _everything_  that could help me sleep." Sofia spoke in an miserable voice. "But it's no good. When I do pass out, be it due to exhaustion or the effects of drugs, my sleep is brief and fitful and I wake up feeling worse than before. And I just can't relax during the day. I keep worrying about Leslie and my other patients, thinking about what Ruben might be doing to them."

Jimenez nodded empathetically; he actually understood what Sofia was going through. When he had first found out about Ruben's human trials, the doctor had seriously considered handing his apprentice over to authorities. Back then, Ruvik was using his cunning and money to have some sadistic mercenary bring him his victims – poor people that lived on the village-like little town close to his family lands, priests and devotees of his father's Church and fired workers from the Victoriano manor. Then, once Jimenez had entered the picture to provide him with his patient, he put that Sadist in his STEM as well, just to be done with him.

" _I do so hate lose ends, doctor."_

However, no matter how abhorrent Ruvik's actions were, Jimenez hadn't dared to turn against him. Instead, he offered the perturbed man more of his help, more of his resources, more of his  _patients_. During the beginning of his participation in Ruvik's human trials, the senior doctor also spent nights wide awake in his bed, wondering if his unstable apprentice was going behind his back and torturing his patients when he wasn't looking. It took him many weeks to get used to his guilt and finally accept that the cruelties they were committing were unavoidable if he wished the STEM system to progress. Science demanded sacrifices and there was no way around it.

"I understand your concern, Sofia. However, there is truly no need to worry. Not only you have Mobius behind you now, but Ruben haven't shown himself ever since our… turbulent encounter in Mobius."

"Really?" The doctor asked, eyes widening slightly in surprise. "I expected him to try to retaliate as soon as possible."

"Me too." Jimenez agreed, raising one of his hands to his mouth in a pensive gesture. "Let's just hope he has been using his time of reclusion to contemplate his situation and that he'll finally come to his senses and understand the power Mobius holds over his fate. Even though I'm sure he's just planning how to inflict revenge upon them and us."

Sofia's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and suspicion. "What do you mean by that, Jimenez? What kind of power does Mobius have over Ruben's "fate"?"

"Mobius is the sole reason his STEM has come this far." The doctor explained, performing a dismissive gesture. "If he pushes the Director too far, they just might abort completely their collaboration to the project and, without it, STEM would surely die. I can only imagine the impact it would have on Ruben's already unstable mind."

Sofia's expression softened and she nodded in agreement. Losing his beloved STEM, it would just kill Ruben inside.

"Well, changing the subject. Since you're here, why don't you go see Leslie?" Jimenez offered. "He misses you terribly."

The doctor managed to smile slightly at that as she nodded in agreement. Then, without another word, she started to make her way to her office so she could leave her purse in there and prepare to visit Leslie.

As she walked away, she missed how Jimenez's shoulders sagged and a dreadful sigh left his lips.

_Also, the Director has Ruben's life in his hands. No one knows just what kind of "accidents" might take place in Ruben's isolated and lonely manor._

* * *

As promised, the Director had made sure Sofia had plenty of time to work for Mobius.

As soon as her visit to Leslie was over, a couple of new additions to the Hospital's staff were introduce to the doctor. A senior nurse specialized in dealing with the mentally ill - and ready to assume many of Sofia's chores regarding her patients' well-being. And a young but bright psychiatrist eager to learn about the profession - and, in time, when Sofia deemed him ready, take some of her patients as his own, lightening even more her workload.

It was barely 14:00 and Sofia had already finished all of her rounds and consults. Not only that, there was a car awaiting for her and Jimenez just outside the hospital, ready to take them to Mobius' R&D Department.

Both doctors arrived there before 15:00 and were done by 19:00. Again, a car was ready to take them anywhere they wanted. Jimenez went home, while Sofia returned to Beacon to pay one last visit to Leslie.

After reaching the hospital, Sofia told the driver he could go, that she could use the subway to get home, however he denied immediately. His job was to make sure she got home safe and sound, and as soon as possible.

Sofia just pursued her lips and nodded in acceptance.

* * *

For weeks, that routine seemed to reign over Sofia's life, bringing along with it calm and stability. The eventual human experiments were very few and so much more controlled and humane than Ruben's ever could hope to be; it was almost unbelievable. Finally, after months of dealing with Ruben's cruelties and threats, Sofia was allowed some sort of peace of mind.

Most of it, Sofia was certain, was due to Ruben's unexplained and continued absence. It was almost as if the scientist had disappeared from the face of the Earth and, while his absence was undoubtedly doing wonders to the woman's mental and physical health, she couldn't help but worry. Had something happened to him? Had his unstoppable drive finally taken its toll on his frail body?

…Or was he planning something much crueller and bloodier than his inhuman mind-traps to get back at her?

No one knew. Not her, not Jimenez and not even the Director.

The last one had gone as far as sending some of Mobius' agents to the Victoriano manor to see what was the reason for Ruvik's drastic isolation. However, the first one whom dared to venture down into the mansion's basement was killed in a matter of seconds, his skull perforated by a scalding laser-beam.

* * *

" **Leave."** Ruvik's rough voice had echoed through the place.  **"I'm working and do not wish to be disturbed. Tell the Director that as soon as I'm done here, I shall grant him with my presence and genius. I'll upgrade his copy of my STEM to the point it becomes a perfect imitation of the original. I'll show him everything my brain can accomplish, as long as he shows me some patience."**

* * *

After that, no more attempts to contact the scientist were made. Ruvik was left alone to his own devices.

Weeks soon turned into months. Winter came and, with it, Christmas and the turn of a New Year.

On the months prior to said festivities, construction work began and ended in Beacon Mental Hospital and, before Sofia knew it, they had a new underground level, ready for occupation.

Ready for the construction of a new STEM system.

* * *

"Marcelo, Sofia. How is everything progressing?"

Both scientists turned their heads in the Director's direction. The tall man had just entered the room – STEM's new room – and was regarding both scientists with a polite smile on his face.

"Wonderful, Director, simply wonderful." Jimenez answered in an excited voice. "If we continue to advance at this rate, with or without Ruben's help we'll have this STEM machinery ready in a few months. By then, I'm certain Ruben shall have finished whatever it is he is doing in his basement and will be here to calibrate the machine and ready it to our usage."

"Excellent. I'm very pleased to hear that, Marcelo." The Director spoke with a smile before settling his gaze on Sofia, whom had refocused on her work in the machine. "And you Sofia? What do you think about the prognosis of this terminal?"

"It's as Jimenez said, Director." Sofia replied absentmindedly as she continued to type in one of the computers. "We're quite capable of mounting the machine by ourselves, but it would undoubtedly be faster if we had Ruben here with us."

"Well, do I have good news for you then." The tall man spoke, dropping his head to the side as a lazy smile stretched on his lips. "Ruben has finally become active again."

As if frozen solid, Sofia's hands stopped moving at once.

"He is in Mobius right now, updating our STEM terminal as we speak. And he requests your assistance, Sofia."

Sofia pursued her lips. "Really?"

"Indeed. And, since he is behaving so amiable as of late, I think it would be appropriate for us to accommodate that request. I know it will be quite uncomfortable for you to be in his presence again, especially after experiencing such a long period of peace without him, however I must ask you to endure it. If not for the STEM, for our friendship. What do you say?"

Slowly, the doctor turned her head to regard the Director with blank eyes that were not quite seeing him as all of the possible outcomes of meeting with Ruben again rushed inside her head. Finally, the woman rasisd her hands from the keyboard and nodded to the Director.

"It won't be a problem at all, Director. I've learned how to deal with Ruben long ago."

_And I just need to see him again._

* * *

When Sofia entered the laboratory, Ruvik barely spared her a glance. He announced what he wished of her and resumed to focus on his work.

The doctor furrowed her eyebrows but said nothing about his cold demeanour towards her, choosing to go right to work instead of giving any second thoughts to the slight pain in her chest.

A couple of hours dragged by in a tense silence as both focused their attentions solely on the STEM terminal at hand and Sofia was almost certain that Ruben had rationalized whatever it was he felt for her in a way he could simply dismiss the emotions. It relieved as well as saddened Sofia and, when her eyes left the STEM bathtub's computer she was working on and settled on the man typing furiously on one of the laboratory's central computers for what must've been the 100th time since they had started working, she couldn't help but allow a heartbroken sigh to escape her.

Just as the air left her lips, the lights in the laboratory suddenly went out, involving both her and Ruvik in absolute darkness. Startled, Sofia turned her head from side to side, trying to make out something in the darkness before she remembered she had her cell phone inside her white coat's pocket.

Once she had the device in her hand and its FLASHLIGHT function on, the doctor raised it in front of her chest as she turned around to do a quick scan of the room, especially its doors. She didn't bother checking for signal in her phone as Mobius' security didn't allow free communication inside the laboratories and other research facilities.

"There's no use." Ruben's rough voice echoed in the dark laboratory. "It's impossible to open those doors without power. We're stuck here until they manage to fix my breach into their system."

Sofia sighed –  _figured it was Ruben's fault_  – and made to turn around so she could walk to her desk and take a seat, since there was no way around it but wait. However, mid-way into her turn, she slammed on a body that seemed to have appeared out of thin air and she couldn't help but let out a startled gasp as the figure grunted in pain.

"Ruben, don't do that." Sofia demanded as she laid her free hand over her accelerated heart. That hand soon dropped as the doctor fixed him with a neutral expression. "Sorry for slamming on you like that. Are you alright?"

The man didn't answer her. Strangely, he actually seemed incapable of doing so at the moment. His silver eyes were wide and fixed on Sofia's with burning intent and, at the same time, a heart-wrenching hesitation. Twice Ruben raised his hands in front of him, as if he was about to reach out to her; and twice those same hands fell back to his sides without as much as touching a strand of her hair.

"Ruben, what's wrong?"

There was no mistaking the worry in Sofia's voice as she dropped her attempt at keeping a cool exterior and quickly reached out to the side of the man's face, cradling it gently in her palm. No matter how much Ruvik's cruelties had hurt her, she still cared deeply for Ruben.

Instinctively, the man closed his eyes and leaned into the touch, enjoying the warmth he had grown so used to having, but which had been denied to him for so long now. How he had missed her. His little harlot, his companion, his friend, his partner, his equal, his woman, his Sofia, his-

_My beloved._

When Ruben's eyes opened and fixed on Sofia's caring and deeply concerned face, illuminated only by the light of her phone that was pointing to his chest, there was no holding back. He grabbed the woman by the nape and pulled her to him in a rough and sloppy kiss.

To his utmost surprise and delight, instead of shoving him away, Sofia responded to him. Hesitantly at first – afraid even – then fiercely and needy.

For a moment, Ruben wondered if he was dreaming again. How many times in the last couple of months had his mind tricked him in believing he had Sofia back into his arms, complying to his every desire and needing him just as much as he needed her, only to wake up alone in his bed? Far too many to count, but he had counted anyway. And he needed to know if she had experienced the same loneliness he had, or if she had found comfort in the arms of other men -  _of the Director._

"How many?" Ruvik demanded in a rough voice as he almost violently pushed the woman away from him, holding her in a tight grip at arm's length. "How many have you been with since me?"

For moments, Sofia just stared at Ruben with wide and confused eyes, as if not understanding what he had just asked of her. When Ruvik gave her a hard shake, the cell phone ended up falling from her hand, plummeting those two back into an almost absolute darkness. The only thing the woman could truly see were those sharp eyes staring into her very soul with deadly promises of pleasure and sweet threats of revenge.

"No one." Sofia answered at last, staring back into Ruben's eyes with a level gaze. "I tried it once, during one of the first nights I was having trouble to sleep. I walked into a bar with every intention of taking home the first man that approached me. A man came. We talked and he offered to take me home."

Ruvik's fingers dug into her flesh, but she paid them no mind.

"But I didn't accept his offer – didn't accept him. I  _couldn't_. It felt wrong. It felt as if I was doing that only to hurt you and the notion sickened me. Despite all that we've been through, I didn't want to hurt you. I  _don't_  want to hurt you, Ruben. Ever."

Suddenly, Ruben's fingers loosened their hold on the woman's arms. At the same moment, his whole body fell on top of her, completely limp.

Automatically, Sofia encircled Ruben's torso, right beneath his armpits, with her arms and cushioned his fall, kneeling down on the floor and supporting her back on the side of one of the STEM's tubs as she cradled his head to her chest.

* * *

It wasn't long before Ruben woke up. However, even after his absence crisis was over, the man had remained in Sofia's embrace, laying in-between her thighs and hugging her waist. He hadn't tried to move and she hadn't let go of him.

"I've missed you." Sofia whispered suddenly. "Despite how healthier, more peaceful, more stable and overall better my life has been without you, I've missed you. More than I've ever missed anyone else."

At hearing that, Ruben couldn't help but smile in victory.

No matter how unappreciative Sofia's parents were of her and no matter how cold and distant they had been throughout her life, the woman still loved them deeply. It was that kind of irrational and unconditional love Ruben had only ever read about in books. That kind when, no matter how many times the person was ignored or mistreated, they still continued reaching out to their loved ones, in the hopes that one day their love would finally be corresponded.

Ruvik envied and hated her parents.

During their year or so together, Ruvik had watched first-hand how very many times the woman tried to reach them. Phone calls, emails, post-cards, letters, gifts… Whatever she could send to try and get them to become part of her life again – no matter how minor – she sent.

And every time, her messages were ignore and her gifts returned.

He had watched how much that hurt the woman on the inside, had watched her staring off in the distance in her balcony with a miserable look in her face every once in a while, when she believed him to be asleep and oblivious to her silent and lonely misery.

And every time Sofia's parents hurt her, Ruben took it upon himself to make it up to her.

Flowers and gifts always seemed to cheer Sofia up somewhat, however what truly made her completely forget her parents' neglect were the times Ruben joined her in the simplest and most mundane activities of everyday life. Lounging in bed, cooking a meal, having dinner, watching documentaries and high acclaimed films in her laptop – since, for some reason, the woman had never bothered to buy a TV for her apartment – and sometimes, when he was feeling particularly generous, a night out in the city – always secluded places, with the least amount of people possible. Those moments always made Sofia's eyes shine.

It was then that Ruben realised how much similar to him the woman truly was. Just like him, what she craved the most was nothing more than what was hers by right: a true family, whom would appreciate and love her for what she is.

Ruben promised himself he'd give Sofia everything she so desired and, one day, completely replace those ungrateful vermin she dared to call her parents in her heart. He promised himself he'd make them pay for taking from Sofia that which was hers.

But then she had to go and ruin everything for them. She had to choose Leslie and her patients over him, over  _their happiness._  She had to side up with the Director against him and lay all they had built for themselves to waste. She had made those choices on her own and, as such, brought an end to their private, utopian world.

_But so have I._

Ruvik couldn't deny that his jealousy, possessiveness and general anger towards the world had played a big part in the downfall of their relationship. However, there was nothing he could do about that. He was much too full of hate and desire for revenge to change and simply let go of his twisted emotions, even if just for a while. They were a part of him and always would be. No matter how much he wished to focus on a possible happy future, he could never let go of his miserable past. And, for that, he and Sofia had paid the price.

_A much too high of a price._

Suddenly, Ruben's hold on the woman tightened.

"We can make this work."

"Ruben-"

"No. Don't do this. Don't say it's impossible. I need you." Ruben spoke in an almost pleading voice as he raised his face from the woman's chest so he could stare directly in her eyes. "And you need me too. Who else can understand you as I do? Who else can make you  _feel_  as I make you feel? Once you told me I was the best you ever had, that you had never found – and never would find – someone like me. Was that a lie?"

"I'd never lie to you, Ruben." Sofia stated with a soft voice. "You know that."

"Then why give it up?"

"I can't ignore what you do. I can't just overlook how many people you've tortured and killed for your STEM. And I can't deal with all your hate and jealousy. I always saw the way you glared hatefully at the floor when I mentioned my parents, as if you wanted nothing more than to kill them for receiving part of my love. Then, you attacked Leslie – a child for all that is worth – for finding him laying his head on my lap. You blame everyone for Laura's death and you think everyone wants to take me from you as well. Despite how many times I told you that I wasn't going anywhere, you still resent even the slightest sign of me caring for someone else. But that's me, Ruben; I care."

Ruben gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes shut. He knew that. He understood how hard it was for Sofia to accept his atrocities; it was just as hard for him to accept her caring nature. She empathized; he didn't. She loved; he hated. She gave; he took.

And he wanted to take  _everything_.

He wanted her to belong to him and him alone; wanted to keep her in his home every second of every day, locking all the vermin outside. He wanted to create a world of their own, where they could be together without anyone else interfering. Then, once he had her completely dependent on him, he'd  _finally_  be able to once again properly focus on his STEM. He'd perfect his precious machine and recover his sister, then he'd bring her back home to him and Sofia. He would provide for them – would give them anything they so desired – and they'd stay together. Forever. In their own little world. Away from the filth outside.

_As it was meant to be._

However, that wasn't enough for Sofia;  _he_  wasn't enough for Sofia. She wanted him and Leslie and her parents and her patients and everyone she could help. She wanted the filth to be part of her world, even though they were completely undeserving of her.

"Ruben…"

That's what he wanted to hear: his woman speaking his name and no one else's.

"Ruben, please calm down. You're hurting me."

Immediately, as if burned, Ruben released the woman and sat back, allowing cold air to drift between them.

Just as he got up on his feet, the power returned.

_47 minutes. A little less than I had strived for._

Ruben would keep trying to regain Sofia's affections, however he was certain there was no way for him and Sofia to work things out on their own. They'd need outside help.

Ruvik's STEM had just earned yet another purpose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you've enjoyed this chapter! It was one of my favourites to write so far. :D
> 
> As always, please tell me what you think about it, especially my portrayal of the characters. I know I took a different route that most would take when dealing with Jimenez, but I do believe he has some humanity in him and really wanted to work that a little bit. ;)
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid
> 
> PS: I hope my little headcannon about the Sadist's origins wasn't too far-fetched. =.=


	16. Chapter 16: Beginning Of The End

"What do you mean, it's not working?"

Sofia and Jimenez exchanged a dread-filled look before returning their eyes to the Director. The tall man was sitting at his desk, staring back at them with a cold glare that promised  _hell._

"I-I'm sorry, Director." Jimenez began in a nervous voice. "I don't know what happened. Ruben must've-"

"I tire of your excuses, Jimenez." The Director interrupted in an authoritative voice. "Don't even try to blame Ruben this time around. For the last two months, the man did nothing but work on the STEM terminals in Mobius and Beacon. I've watched him work the machine perfectly with the new updates just last week, and you still dare to try and say he is at fault?"

Sofia pursued her lips and took in a deep breath, bracing herself to become the new receptacle of the Director's fury.

"It's my fault, Director."

Both men immediately fixed their wide eyes on the woman.

"When helping to update the terminals' system, I just followed Ruben's commands and downloaded the upgrades in the machine, believing they were the regular bug-fixes and what-not. I didn't notice that those upgrades made for a completely different version of the program. It changed the machines' calibration completely." The woman explained, staring straight into the tall man's eyes. "Due to my faulted performance, I didn't notice it and as such didn't care to understand at the time just what it was that this new calibration was made of."

"And what is it made of,  _Doctor Prieto_?"

Sofia couldn't keep herself from pursuing her lips once again. The Director's tone didn't even attempt to hide how angry and disappointed he was with her failure.

"Completely new equations and algorithms, based solely on Ruben's brainwaves pattern. Too complex for me to understand at the moment, let alone bypass."

The doctor saw the imposing man stand up from his chair in one fluid and forceful motion and had to steel herself not to take a step back. Surprisingly, he did not make to walk towards her and Jimenez as she expected; instead, he gave them his back as he stared at strange pattern of the wall in front of them.

"Based on his brainwaves, you say?" The Director asked in a strangely soft voice.

"…Yes." Sofia answered hesitantly. She didn't like where this was going. "I believe that to further improve the STEM's efficacy, Ruben demanded a more biological "host" to help the machine to stabilize the merging consciousness. It makes sense, when you think about it. The human brain is much more prone to adapt the reality created by the merged consciousness than a machine with limited and pre-programmed features. It has much more plasticity. Instead of forcing the people's consciousness into a certain scenario, it can allow each brain to create its own version of what is happening, decreasing the odds of the brains connected rejecting the machine. It's brilliant, really."

"But we can only benefit from said brilliance if Ruben is taking part of the experiments.  _Controlling_  the experiments inside out."

Again, Sofia hesitated. "…Yes."

She watched the Director's broad shoulders rise and fall steeply, signalling he had taken a deep breath, most likely to calm himself.

"You two are excused."

Both doctors blinked in surprise at the blatant dismissal and Sofia made to protest but, before any word could leave her lips, Jimenez laid a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. This wasn't the time to try the Director's patience with questions.

"Thank you for your time, Director." The senior doctor spoke in a submissive tone. "We shall be waiting for further instruction on how to proceed from now on."

* * *

"Sofia."

Jimenez's voice was soft and low, but more than enough to catch the woman's attention inside the empty room. As soon as the Director had dismissed them, both scientists had returned to Beacon and quickly locked themselves inside Jimenez's office, trying to figure out a way to come around the STEM's new calibration. So far, they had no such luck.

"Do you honestly believe that what Ruben did to the STEM was an attempt at improving it?"

The woman sighed and shook her head.

"No. I'm sure it was just his way of getting back at the Director for involving me with Mobius. My involvement ended whatever blackmail material Ruben had over me. Also, I can assume that he partially blames the Director for us not being able to resume our previous romantic relationship." Sofia spoke in a tired voice. "However, I'm sure the Director suspects this already. If I, the one who cares and knows most about Ruben, showed that I also believe foul play in his updates on the STEM…"

"The repercussions would be extremely severe for Ruben." Jimenez concluded, massaging his temples with his fingers. "Well played, Sofia. I do believe you've managed to buy Ruben some more time. However, we desperately need to convince him to reverse the machines' calibration as soon as possible. I doubt the Director will remain patient regarding all this for long. And Mobius… Let's just say they value results above all. As Machiavelli said:  _the ends justify the means_."

"No. This quote is an erroneous adaption of Machiavelli's work.  _To each end, there is an appropriate mean._  That's closer to the correct saying." Sofia spoke, turning her head to look out the window with a desolate look in her face. "And I do believe we've been using the wrong means all this time."

_I wouldn't be surprised if the results came wrong as well._

* * *

Experiments with the STEM continued to happen.

They were more far apart than before and depended completely on Ruvik's participation and collaboration to succeed. To make things worse, the scientist insisted on trying the Director's patience, torturing and killing many of the test subjects for no other reason than his own amusement.

It all made the Director livid. And Sofia sick.

* * *

"Ruben. Do you think this is a joke? That we are all here wasting our time and resources just to entertain your twisted forbidden pleasures?"

Still immersed in the bathtub full of water, Ruvik opened his cutting eyes, quickly fixing them on the Director's tall figure looming over him. He smirked.

"You wished for me to improve the STEM, didn't you?" Ruvik asked in a conversationally tone as he stood up from the bathtub, slowly and carefully as to not slip and hurt himself. "That is exactly what I did."

"Do enlighten me, how is STEM is progressing when we've returned to our starting point, when we weren't capable of keeping our test subjects alive?"

"I should've imagined you'd have trouble grasping the concept." Ruvik spoke in a condescending voice as he walked away from the angered man.

The scientist reached for a towel that was hanging on the back of a chair and started to dry himself. As he did so, his eyes instinctively zeroed on Sofia. The doctor was standing with her back turned to him, staring at his newest victim lying limp inside the bathtub.

"The difference between now and then-" Ruben continued, though his eyes hadn't left Sofia's still frame. "-is that I'm in complete control of what kills the test subjects. Our connection via STEM is so profound and complete that I'm capable of manipulate even their bodies' vital functions. They are not dying because I  _can't_  keep them alive; they are dying because it is  _my will_. It is truly beautiful, to have such control over another's life."

From his place in the corner of the room, out of the range of the Director's ire, Jimenez scowled in disgust. This was not beautiful because it wasn't science; this was  _butchering_. Nothing more and nothing less. Those test subjects' deaths weren't contributing to their progress at all; keeping them alive and healthy was much more valuable to their research than the abominations Ruvik was practicing. Not only that, but his once-apprentice was also threading on dangerously thin ice regarding the Director. It was a matter of time before the later decided to take a more… proactive part regarding the continuation of Ruben's participation in the STEM project, and Jimenez truly feared what Mobius' administrator was capable of when pushed to his patience's limit.

And if the burning ire inside the Director's eyes was any indicative, he was very close to said limit, and all Jimenez could do was brace himself for what would no doubt be the start of yet another very unpleasant, very passive-aggressive power play between the Director and Ruben.

But it never came.

An unexpected sound of swishing water, soon followed by a feminine scream of horror put an end to the fight before it even began.

The three men in the room instinctively wiped their head around, focusing wide eyes on the source of the sounds. They found Sofia fallen on the ground staring up at the bathtub in front of her with wide eyes full of horror. Her right arm was outstretched in front of her, but it wasn't by her choice.

It was being pulled by a hand. A cold and pale hand that belonged to the presumed deceased test subject.

Only he wasn't deceased - not completely at least. He still had the strength to push his upper body halfway out of the tub and the mental capacity to fix a haunted gaze in Sofia's eyes and whisper words so full of pain and fear that Jimenez was sure would haunt the woman for the rest of her life.

"H-Help me… Pleas-"

Then, as if he had accomplished some sort of goal, the man allowed his hand to release Sofia's wrist and his head to fall limp out of the tub as the life finally, truly, slipped away from him.

Jimenez watched the scene with horrified eyes, frozen solid on the spot as the female doctor suddenly turned her head to the side and vomited hard on the floor, before dropping back in a sitting position and curling herself in a foetal position in a desperate attempt of trying to find some sense of reassurance and protection. It was a miserable sight and he understood that Sofia had finally reached her limit.

" **Sofia!"**

Still transfixed by what was unfolding before him, Jimenez stood still as both Ruben and the Director rushed to the woman. The later was the first to reach her, immediately kneeling before her and calling her name once again, coaxing her to respond to him.

She only tightened her grip around herself.

It was Ruben, whom had kneeled by her side – the one clean of vomit – and immediately grabbed her upper arms with ill-suited strength, who got a reaction out of her.

A scream, high-pitched and desperate.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!"

Ruben's silver eyes, usually narrowed in disdain and distrust, widened to unproportioned dimensions as the woman violently struggled out of his hold and crawled towards the Director, grabbing the front of his suit in a desperate grip and burying her face on his chest as loud and pained sobs racked her entire form.

"Get me away from here. Please. I-I'm begging you." Her voice was distraught and coarse, nothing like her usual controlled and soft tones. "You said you wanted to be my friend, so be my friend. T-Take me away from all of this. Don't make me come back. Not to this, not to  _him_. Please. I-I can't take it anymore. I'll do whatever you want, just… P-Please… I'm begging you."

Jimenez saw, for the first time in his life, Ruben at loss for words. The psychotic scientist opened his mouth in an attempt to say something-  _anything_ , but he seemed to choke on the words that tried to leave him. All he could do was stand still, eyes and mouth open in dismay, as the Director complied to Sofia's wishes.

"Is this what you call  _complete control_ , Ruben?" The imposing man demanded in an intimidating voice as he stood up, pulling Sofia with him, holding her in his arms in a protective manner. "This isn't control – this _,_  is unacceptable. Unfortunately, I don't have time to deal with you as I wish to right now. As you can clearly see-" The Director then raised the woman from the ground, holding her trembling body bridal style. "-I have more urgent matters to deal with."

Once again, Ruben was unable to respond. All he could do was watch as the Director carried Sofia out of the laboratory and away from him.

* * *

After her sad breakdown, Sofia didn't speak anymore. She stood still and silent inside the Director's office, sat down on the red sofa in front of his desk as her glazed eyes stared at the ground unseeing.

The tall man sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

One of his best researchers reduced to such a pitiful state, only because that pathetic little man – the one whom was supposed to  _love_  her – couldn't control himself. Keeping Ruben around was increasingly becoming a nuisance to Mobius and the Director would have to deal with him, sooner rather than later-

A sob came from across the room and he raised his eyes to find Sofia with her face buried in her hands, trying to hide her tears from him.

-But now he had more serious matters to deal with. The Director hadn't lied to Sofia before; Mobius took care of their own.

Not moving his eyes from the crying woman, the man reached for the phone on his desk and dialled a number.

"Tatiana, come to my office. We have a situation."

* * *

"That really isn't necessary, Tatiana. I'll be fine on my own."

Tatiana Gutierrez, one of Mobius' leading psychologists, smiled reassuringly at the woman behind her as she stopped by a door and inserted a key in the lock.

"I know you will, Sofia. You're a strong woman; I know that first-hand. However, you don't  _need_  to be on your own right now. What you just witnessed was no small occurrence and it'll take a lot of you to learn how to deal with."

As Tatiana unlocked the door and pushed it open, Sofia opened her mouth to protest but no words managed to come out before her hand was taken in a warm grip and she was gently pulled inside the psychologist's apartment. She found herself staring into a wide and well-furnished living room, equipped with a wall-sized window that allowed her to stare at an amazing view of the city's buildings. It was a very nice place.

"I know what you want to say, Sofia." Tatiana continued, ignoring the doctor's momentary awe of her apartment. "You're used to dealing with Ruben's antics. But truth is, no one as empathetic and caring as you could truly get used to them. I know what the man has done to his patients; the mental traps, the bodily mutilations, everything. Only knowing about it is enough to make someone uncomfortable, but actually witnessing it? That's not something anyone should have to go through, let alone deal with on their own. We are here for you, Sofia. Me, the Director, Jimenez, the whole Mobius. You're not alone."

As Tatiana talked, Sofia couldn't help but turn her back to the woman and take deep breaths in an attempt to hold back her tears. Her display with the Director had been enough humiliation for one day.

But Tatiana was having none of it.

"You can cry, Sofia." The taller woman spoke, laying a hand on the doctor's shoulder and turning her around. "Crying is good. It's proof you're still feeling what is happening to you; that you're not broken inside. Crying isn't a sign of weakness, but of strength; it shows you accept the pain you're feeling. Only when we admit we are hurt can we begin to heal. And that's the exact reason I'm here for: to help you heal."

Sofia's eyes were wide in shock. No one had ever told her it was okay to cry; not her parents, not her friends and definitely not Ruben. Crying was something that had shamed the woman ever since she was a child; something she did in hiding, for fear of being berated, mocked and rejected.

And now… now she had someone telling her it was okay to cry, that they would still be there for her after it,  _during_  it.

Like a babe, Sofia clung to Tatiana and bawled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a bit shorter than usual, but I hope it was still enjoyable for all of you. I know that I had a pretty exciting time writing it. XDXD
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid


	17. Chapter 17: Check

Sofia walked to the large window in Tatiana's living room so she could fulfill her sudden urge to stare down at the streets. There were very few people occupying the streets at the time, walking them in different states of haste, all living their lives the best way they knew how. In a way, they were just like her and Ruben.

In a way, they couldn't be more different.

Those people – most of them at least – had such a clear sense of morals and rules that they wouldn't dare to break them... wouldn't dare to kill people for their own selfish reasons.

For a moment, Sofia envied them with a ferocity that scared herself. For a moment, Sofia understood just why Ruben was trying so hard and cruelly to achieve his goals and change his whole life.

"I need to sleep."

The tired woman turned her back to the window and stared into the empty and dark living room, her eyes instinctively focusing on the Blu-ray's digital clock. 23:44. This was bound to be the doctor's second sleepless night inside Tatiana's apartment.

While the psychologist's silent and yet constant company was deeply reassuring, it still wasn't enough to make the doctor forget what was the situation outside the apartment's seemingly safe walls. Ruben and Leslie, her patients and the Director, Jimenez and her parents… it all seemed to merge in an ever-growing amalgam of distress and pain and, not for the first time, Sofia found herself wanting to run away from her life and all its problems; to find a small place in the world for herself to start over.

But she knew better. Her problems and actions would never leave her mind; they'd haunt her until her very last breath.

" _H-Help me… Pleas-"_

The woman's eyes shut tightly and she pushed the heels of her hands in them as they grew moist with tears.

"Sofia."

Startled by the soft call of her name, the doctor jumped on her spot, wide eyes trying to make out Tatiana's figure in the darkness of the room.

"I'm sorry." The doctor spoke automatically as she roughly dried unshed tears on the back of her hands. "Did I awake you?"

"Of course not. You're as silent as a shadow." Tatiana answered, staring at the shorter woman with intense eyes. "I woke up to use the bathroom and saw you weren't in your room. Again."

"Sorry." Sofia said again, dropping her gaze to the floor as guilt flooded her. The emotion wasn't due to her insomnia and both women knew that.

Slowly, Sofia's eyes rose back to the window with something akin to longing in them as her mind continued to race with painful thoughts and emotions. Silence engulfed the room, thick and cold, as it dawned on both woman just what it was that was growing inside the doctor's mind - just what seed had suddenly been sowed in it.

The full wall window was fragile enough to be broken by the throwing of a chair, and large enough for a person to easily walk through.

"Sofia."

This time, the call of the doctor's name was strong and it immediately forbade her of enforcing the thought that had begun to form in her mind. In response, Sofia's eyes stopped looking down at the streets below her in order to focus on her own translucent reflection in the glass as a broken smile grew on her lips.

"I think… I'm not fit to practice Medicine anymore." The doctor spoke, smiling at herself through the glass. "A suicidal psychiatrist. How ironic. And yet, not really surprising..."

Without answering, Tatiana walked to Sofia and gently pulled her away from the window so she could lead her to the kitchen and sit her down on the small breakfast table there. Then she began to brew a large pot of coffee.

This would be the longest therapy session they'd ever have in their lives.

* * *

"A vacation?"

Tatiana nodded, staring the Director straight in the eye.

"Sofia needs more than therapy; she needs time. Time to herself. Time to not worry about other people's lives. Time to heal." The psychologist began. "I asked her and she said she didn't remember when was the last time she took an extended period of time off work. I researched her files and found that, ever since she began working in Beacon, she hasn't taken any vacations. On the contrary, she has worked on the vast majority of her supposed to be free days. She  _needs_  time away from all of this. It's a miracle that it took her this long to finally experience some sort of breakdown."

"I see your point." The tall man spoke, laying his back on his chair's support and crossing his legs. "And you believe she'd better relax in a different location."

"Undoubtedly. Her mind is already too deep in all of this. Logic, emotions, thoughts; they are all consumed by STEM and Ruben. We need to use every strategy available if we want her not to think about this for a while, and nothing is more helpful to forget than distance and inability of maintaining contact."

"Do you have a location in mind?"

"Somewhere calm, with no free access to internet or telephones. A place where she is prompted to interact with other people, but not many at once."

"...Mobius possesses a large farm in the country. The main house is currently occupied by some of our investors and employees for a days-long gathering, so it'll be a good way to keep Sofia in the company of others; and there are some small cottages there as well, so she can easily wander off for a little time of peace and quiet if she ever feels a bit overwhelmed by the social interaction. Also, as norm in Mobius' properties, there will be no unrestricted phone or internet signal available to anyone that isn't part of the leading board. Standard security measures." The Director mused. "Of course, you'll be going with her. I'm also due to participate in that gathering in a couple of days, so I'll be able to check on your progress. Are those settings to your liking?"

"They are perfect, sir."

"Good. You shall leave today."

* * *

"WHERE IS SHE?!"

Holding back a sigh, the Director told the researcher he had been speaking with to find him in his office later in the day, and turned around to find an irate Ruben stomping into the laboratory, straight towards him. Hellfire burned inside his icy silver eyes.

"You miserable serpent. Is it not enough that you no longer provide me with test subjects to advance on my STEM? You must also take the one good thing in my life away from me? How  _dare_  you to hide Sofia from me? HOW DARE YOU?!"

Surrounding scientists rose their heads from their work in fright, all but jumping at the opportunity of running away from the mad scientist at the Director's hand signal to clear the premises.

" _Sofia_  hid herself from you, Ruben. I merely helped with the accommodations." The tall man spoke matter-of-factly. "A man as brilliant as yourself should have no problem understanding the situation. Sofia Prieto doesn't want anything to do with you anymore. She doesn't want to see you. She doesn't want to talk to you. She doesn't want to touch you. And she doesn't want to  _love_  you. To her, you're nothing more than a disgusting, pitiful monster."

Ruvik was very devote to violence; few things in life gave him as much pleasure as watching creatures squirm and cry in pain and misery beneath his touch. Even so, he was not a man prone to involve himself in physical fights. He was a strategist – a Craftsman - and, as such, used tools other than his fists; he used traps, especially designed for the body and for the mind of his enemies. That was partially because he thought himself above such barbaric and stupid deeds as the very mundane act of brawling, and partially because he knew he had no chance at winning. No matter how superior he was to the vermin surrounding him, the abomination that his body had been turned into left him at a gross disadvantage.

Despite that, Ruben found himself kneeled on the floor, over the Director's body, left hand throttling the tall man while the right one descended on his face with the ineptitude of a safeguarded child and the ferocity of a wild beast.

Momentarily blind to the pain on his hand and head, all Ruvik felt was a dark pleasure at feeling his enemy's flesh and bones suffering beneath his hands.

_As it should be._

However, the sadist's bliss was short-lived. As his more logical side had told him – over and over again – he was and would always be physically inferior than the creatures surrounding him and, as such, he was bound to lose.

Two, three punches connected to the Director's face, then Ruben found himself on his back, disoriented and struggling to open his silver eyes, only to find the laboratories' bright lights glaring down at him, and feeling a throbbing pain coming from the back of his skull.

Minutes before, as Ruben blindly assaulted the Director, without the first even feeling it, the later rose his long legs and used them as a rope, encircling Ruben's fragile neck. They were quick and strong, pulling the smaller man back with such violence that the back of his head was slammed on the floor with enough force to make him lose consciousness for short minutes. It allowed the Director to calmly raise himself from the cold tile and clean his face with a handkerchief as he waited for the scientist to come to.

Slowly, as Ruben regained full consciousness of his surroundings, his eyes focused on the Director's looming figure, staring down at him with amusement and victory dancing in his eyes. Only a busted lip remained as proof of his assault.

"Ruben, I understand that your… predicament forbids you from engaging in strenuous physical activities but you desperately need to invest some time and money in a good physiatrist. Your physical strength is less than pathetic."

Ruvik's silver eyes, already filled with hate, narrowed into threatening slits as he stood up out of sheer stubbornness, forcing himself to ignore the spinning in his vision and the pain in his skull. His legs trembled and his body swayed, almost hitting the ground again, if not for him coming across a mobile blackboard, filled with his own drawings and formulas for the STEM, and hold onto it to steady himself.

"However-" The Director resumed talking, voice back to his usual serious tone. "-your devotion to Sofia has truly impressed me. I never thought you were capable of caring for someone else than yourself or your comatose sister."

Ruben's eyes were wide and crazy as he wiped his head to the Director's direction.

"LAURA IS  **DEAD**! DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT HER, YOU FILTHY SERPENT!"

If Ruben's physical condition was anywhere near acceptable, he would've lunged at the Director once again. Laura was dead! DEAD! No matter what Jimenez had claimed when he had taken him to that forgotten hospital on the outskirts of Krimson City on his eighteenth birthday, saying he had a wonderful surprise for him… saying his sister was alive, hidden by their father in a small hospital.

Sweet, cruel lies.

Ruben had gone to the hospital to meet his beautiful Laura again, instead he found nothing more than a deformed piece of charcoal. His Laura was beauty and life. That burned, barely breathing piece of flesh lying there wasn't his beloved sister.

His sister was dead.

Ruvik left with the certainty that he would bring her back to him. More than that, he'd take back that which was his by right: his body and sanity. And he would make everyone whom had wronged him and his sister pay dearly for it.

And his STEM was born.

And now… now that he was so close to perfection, to the life he was meant to have, the Director was doing his best to take it all away from him.

"Ruben, it's time for you to accept reality. You've lost." Even though the Director's words were cruel, his tone was soft and warm, as if he could ever deceive Ruvik in believing that he cared. "But I can help you. I can give you another chance; with Sofia and usage of STEM. All you need to do is reverse the calibration and return to us the control of the machine."

"This machine was designed for me." Ruben spat in his rough voice, blood-lusting gaze fixed on the Director. "People like you took my life away… turned me into an abomination. Finally, with this machine I can go back. I can live the life I was supposed to have. With Laura, and Sofia."

The Director's voice immediately returned to its authoritative tone.

" _We_  are forgiving. We are willing to overlook your certain  _peculiarities_  for what you can provide us, but you are testing our limits. Our manpower, our resources… Sofia-" The Director was nothing short of elated at watching Ruben's shoulders tense in anger. "-They are not here for your pathetic fantasy. You will reverse the calibration on the machine so we can use it without you."

However, Ruben's burning anger was soon replaced by Ruvik's chilling disgust. Who did that vermin think he was, giving orders to him?

"And what if I say no? Even if Sofia was willing to continue working on the STEM without me she wouldn't be able to reverse the calibration, not before years of study and expensive trial-and-error. And Jimenez, you think he can fix this? Please, that joke isn't even funny anymore."

Pushing off the blackboard he was using as support, Ruvik took one step towards the Director and gave him a chilling and arrogant smile.

"You need me and there's no way around it."

* * *

"Jimenez, it's time for us to resume working on STEM."

The old doctor's blue eyes all but shone in anticipation at hearing the Director's words, but he still felt something cold climbing up his chest.

"How? With Ruben forbidden to come anywhere near our terminals and us not providing him with test subjects for his own… We can't progress without him."

The Director resisted the urge to sigh in exasperation as he dropped his chin on the back of his hands. He understood now why Ruben had all but jumped at the opportunity of having someone else working with him on the STEM. The old man sitting in his office had no creativity; he always depended on others taking the first step. But that would change – Mobius needed and would make it change because, in a quickly approaching future, Jimenez will be all they have to lead the STEM project.

But he wouldn't approach the subject now. Soon, but not now.

"That's why you'll go pay him a visit, Jimenez. Bring him here so I can have another chat with him. I'm sure I'll be able to get him to help us."

"How do you intend to do that?"

That was the question the Director had been waiting for and, without delay, he pressed the intercom button on the top of his table and spoke on it.

"Send them in."

In moments, the doors to the Director's office opened, allowing four enormous men dressed in black suits and wearing sunglasses to walk in.

"Next week, you shall go to the Victoriano state under the pretence of taking a couple more test subjects to Ruben, and these gentlemen will accompany you and help you bring Ruben here. Then they will help me to get Ruben to make one final contribution to our STEM. One that will be so big it'll allow even you to make progress with it."

Jimenez's eyes were large and frightened.

"Oh, and don't behave like such a scared lamb when dealing with Ruben, Jimenez. Do be more… demanding, forceful. I want to take all of the control from his hands from beginning to end. Is that understood?"

Jimenez closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He felt his life, as well as Ruben's, was on the line here. He saw himself without a choice.

"Yes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :D And please tell me what you think about it; despite being relatively short, this chapter was quite hard to write, seeing as it starts to insert this fanfiction even closer to the game timeline. XPXP
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid


	18. Chapter 18: Checkmate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What to say? What to say?
> 
> I'm really sorry for the delay. I didn't have much time to write these past weeks. Also, I was hit by the bunny-plot of another fic of mine and it kind of consumed all of my writing time, so... sorry. =.=

_"Next week, you shall go to the Victoriano state under the pretence of taking a couple more test subjects to Ruben, and these gentlemen will accompany you and help you bring Ruben here." The Director spoke. "Then they will help me to get Ruben to make one final contribution to our STEM. One that will be so big it'll allow even you to make progress with it."_

_Jimenez's eyes were large and frightened._

_"Oh, and don't behave like such a scared lamb when dealing with Ruben, Jimenez. Do be more… demanding, forceful. I want to take all of the control from his hands from beginning to end. Is that understood?"_

_Jimenez closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He felt his life, as well as Ruben's, was on the line here. He saw himself without a choice._

_"Yes."_

* * *

Two days after his talk with Jimenez, the Director found himself inside the main house of Mobius' isolated farm, surrounded by patrons and some co-workers who rushed to greet him.

It was late afternoon and all of the occupants were gathered in the wide and luxurious ballroom, enjoying some afternoon tea and talking for hours on a row as they waited for an appropriate time to get ready for the night's entertainment. Since it was the last night of the gathering, a sort of ball had been arranged, with music, champagne and appetizers. Everything of the best quality to get the patrons all relaxed, happy and tipsy enough to ensure their generosity when it was time for them to deposit their usual donations to Mobius.

Sofia and Tatiana sat at a table by a large window, chatting quietly as they waited for the small crowd that had formed around the Director to dissipate so they could say their greetings as well. When it did, they didn't have the chance to stand up from their place as the tall man was already walking in a straight line towards them.

Before the Director had a chance to protest, Tatiana stood up to greet him with a firm handshake, her usual impassive expression in place. Sofia tried to stand up as well, but the Director quickly aborted that motion by laying a large hand on her shoulder and giving her a friendly smile.

"Please Sofia, it is enough that I couldn't get here in time to make Tatiana to drop the formalities. Not you as well. This is a social gathering, not a place of work."

A small smile twitched on the woman's lips. It was a bit sad and didn't quite reach her eyes, but it was the first true smile the Director had seen in her face ever since she started working for Mobius and that was good enough for him.

"I trust the accommodations are to your liking? That everyone has been treating you well? Is Tatiana allowing you contact with Leslie?"

Tatiana gave him a very unimpressed look and Sofia couldn't keep a small chuckle from leaving her lips.

"Yes, everything is great. And I get to talk to Leslie for a few minutes every day; it is wonderful, very reassuring." The woman spoke and her smile turned a little less sad. "Thank you, Director. Really, thank you so much."

The tall man bend over and gently pulled Sofia's hands to his lips.

"You're very welcomed, my dear."

Unknown to both women, a photographer was capturing every detail of the scene.

* * *

The ball was lovely but it still concentrated too many people in just one place for Sofia's tastes, so it didn't take her more than an hour in the crowd before she wandered away from it and found herself a secluded spot in one of the verandas. With a sigh, she dropped her body on one of the straw armchairs and closed her eyes, enjoying the warm breeze that blew in her face. Sofia didn't usually take kindly to summer dresses, especially short ones like the one she was wearing, usually preferring her every-day formal wear, but she had make an exception this time and was glad for it. It was the middle of the summer and she was spending almost all of her time outside, away from the blessing that was air-conditioning. If not for Tatiana insisting she borrowed some of her lighter clothing for the trip, Sofia would've melted in a puddle a long time ago.

"Is this seat taken?"

Startled, Sofia jumped a bit on her chair and opened her eyes wide, finding the Director standing in front of her, blazer and tie folded over one of his arms and the three top buttons of his shirt open. His gazed moved from hers to the straw chair by her side meaningfully, getting her out of her stupor.

"Oh! No, the seat isn't taken. Please, make yourself comfortable."

With a polite smile, the man did just that. He dropped his body on the chair by his side in the most relaxed posture Sofia had ever seen him in: back half on the seat, half on the back support, both feet set apart on the ground, knees spread open and chair fallen back.

"I think…" Sofia began cautiously. "This is the most human I've ever seen you, Director."

"I think so too." The man agreed, dropping his head to the side to give her a lazy smile. "But I guess this doesn't mean that much since you don't even know my name yet."

"And whose fault is that?" Sofia asked, returning the smile with a brief twitch of her lips.

"Mine alone." The man admitted and laid his left hand on her right knee in a friendly gesture that, for a stranger, might've seemed extremely romantic. "But maybe, one day, you'll convince me to change that."

Once again, unknown to the woman, a photographer documented every moment that transpired between them.

* * *

Late in the next morning, people started to load their cars and say their farewells. The gathering had fulfilled its purposes of fraternization and income-assurance to Mobius and it was time for the patrons to return to their tennis courts and the company's workers to their duties.

Tatiana and Sofia were standing by their car, exchanging pleasantries and saying their farewells to the people who came to talk to them as they waited for the Director to make his appearance. In a matter of minutes, the tall man left the main house, followed by three of Mobius' upscale personnel. He was back in his suit and imposing posture; nothing like the relaxed and friendly man Sofia had seen last night.

When the Director's eyes found the two women, he quickly spoke some last words with his co-workers and exchanged handshakes and then walked towards them.

"Good morning, Director." Tatiana greeted once he was in hearing range. "Will you be returning with us back to Krimson City?"

"Good morning, Tatiana. Sofia." The Director responded with a nod and a smile to each. "Actually, I was thinking about extending your vacations for some days more."

Both women startled at hearing that and Sofia couldn't keep herself from softly protesting.

"But, I've been here for three days already. I shouldn't spend so much time away… I mean, Leslie-"

"Is just fine. And so are your other patients." The Director interjected. "I understand and admire your concern for them, but I wholeheartedly believe you should take more time off before contacting them again. These few days you spent here have done wonders to you, Sofia, but you're still not ready to go back."

Before the doctor could protest again, Tatiana spoke.

"That's probably for the best. You could use some more time, Sofia. Maybe a couple of weeks more away from Krimson…"

"A couple of weeks?" Sofia echoed in surprise. "That's too long. I can't stay so long away from Leslie. And Ruben… I should see him again. The way we parted wasn't anywhere near satisfactory. I need to talk to him."

"I'm afraid that's not a good idea." The man commented. "Ruben was very… unsettled, by your sudden disappearance and lack of contact, and he still shows a rather aggressive disposition. If you go see him now, you'll only succeed in becoming the receptacle to his negative emotions." At the woman's defeated expression, he gave her a soft, reassuring smile. "Let him cool down some more, Sofia. Once he is back to his senses – or what's left of them – you can go and talk to him. I'm sure your discussion will be much more prolific once he is thinking straight and not blinded by misguided anger."

"He's right." Tatiana agreed, laying a hand on the woman's shoulder. "That man tends to overreact and focus too much on his anger and hate. It'll take him a long while before he's back to himself. And you're still not quite yourself either. Both of you need time to heal."

With a sad sigh, Sofia nodded her agreement. Then, she raised determined eyes to the Director.

"But I still want to see my patients." She spoke with a firm voice that showed that, deep inside, she was still the same iron-willed doctor that would overcome any obstacle set in her way. "I know you're taking good care of them, but I still need to talk to them. I need to see for myself how they're coping. If not as their doctor, as a visitor."

"That... is too much to ask, Sofia." The Director said carefully. "It would take days for you to properly check up on all of your patients and Ruben would surely find out if you spent so much time in Beacon. And to transport so many mentally ill to another, more secure location would take a lot of time and resources. Don't you trust me when I say they're safe?"

"Of course I trust you, Director." The woman answered, looking almost offended at the accusation. "It's just… They've been the one constant in my life ever since I came to Krimson City. I miss them. I'm sorry if it seemed that I was doubting you; it wasn't my intention."

"Maybe we could settle somewhere in-between?" Tatiana offered. "Let's all go back to Krimson City today. Sofia can spend the night in my apartment since Ruben most likely has hers under surveillance – this will come quite in handy since we need fresh clothes if we are to continue this vacation anyways. Tomorrow morning, take a couple of Sofia's patients to Mobius R&D building so she can see them for a few hours before we leave for our next location. It mustn't be so hard for Mobius to transport just two of her patients for a couple of hours, especially if one of them is that gentle Leslie Withers."

"That can be arranged." The Director spoke with a nod before turning to face Sofia. "Are these conditions acceptable to you?"

"Well, it is the best we can do under the circumstances." The doctor said softly. "I'll love to see some of my patients for a while. Thank you very much."

* * *

Sofia's reunion with her patients was uneventful. As the Director promised, they had been kept safe from Ruvik's rage and been given adequate psychological support during her absence.

Leslie, as usual, seemed to know exactly what Sofia was and had been feeling for the last couple of days. He smiled and played and hugged the woman, all the while repeating "It'll be alright." in soft and reassuring whispers.

As she cried and hugged the boy to her, Sofia didn't know who was the patient and who was the doctor anymore.

* * *

"Director, what is the current situation regarding the STEM and Ruben Victoriano?"

"I won't lie to you, Tatiana. It is still quite chaotic. Ruben refuses to return to us the control of the machine and I, for one, am tired of dealing with his shenanigans."

"What does this mean regarding his relationship with Mobius?"

"It means his time working with us is drawing to an end. But he still will make one final collaboration to the machine and return it to our control. Even if it kills him"

"… And regarding Sofia?"

"…It means he'll break her heart one final time and leave her alone for good."

Through the large monitor in front of them, both members of Mobius watched the woman in question let go of Leslie and quickly dry her tears on the back of her hands before rewarding the boy with one of her once-so-frequent reassuring smiles. She was recovering, little by little.

And she would get over losing Ruben, Tatiana would make sure of it.

* * *

Ruben was seething. And every day that passed only served to worsen his mood.

A whole week went by without as much as a whisper of Sofia and her whereabouts. He had gone to Jimenez and bullied the doctor for long hours, but the innocuous man didn't know anything that could help him, as per usual. Then he went to Mobius to try and retrieve information from his personal Pandora Box, the origin of all his problems, the one that had removed Sofia from his life so cruelly and swiftly. That devil in man's form whose name no one knew, but whom was known to all: the Director.

As expected, the manipulative man tried to strike a deal with Ruvik, using his own STEM as a bargain chip, as if the machine wasn't already his to do with as he pleased. That serpent had tried to make Ruvik bow down to his wishes, to manipulate him in believing that he and his precious Mobius were  _helping_  him to accomplish his goals, when in truth they were just using his genius to reach their own agenda.

Ruvik was done dealing with that man. He was done having to struggle to keep what was his, his. The Director could never understand just how much the STEM meant to him; no one could.

_Only Sofia._

The woman was the only who understood the true importance of STEM, the only one who ever helped him without thinking about her own personal gain. Even in the beginning when she believed the machine was being developed to help her mentally ill patients, she never denied it was his. His genius, sweat and blood made the STEM what it was; it was and always would be  _his_  brainchild. The same way Sofia was and always would be his woman.

He only needed to remind the Director of those facts. And he knew exactly how to do it.

_Here he may be untouchable, but once inside my STEM… he'll be nothing more than another prey._

Of course, Ruvik didn't believe the Director would ever volunteer to enter the STEM while he was in complete control of it, nor was he under the illusion he could use force to make the man connect himself to the machine via cable.

But, he could enforce an wireless connection without him knowing it.

He had the designs ready already; all he needed to do was develop the new upgrade, build in the machine a signal transmitter and then test the prototype.

With mechanical movements, Ruben turned on his personal computer to contact Jimenez and order –  _threaten, bully_  – the old doctor to bring him some new parts for his STEM, even if he had to go behind the Director's back to do so.

At opening his email, his grip on the mouse tightened at finding his mailbox empty if not for notifications from new publications made in virtual scientific magazines. Sofia hadn't tried –  _no, she hadn't been_ _ **allowed**_ – to contact him yet.

He decided to check the most interesting articles before sending the email and, when his silver eyes started reading the third one, he couldn't help but throw the mouse and keyboard at the wall out of sheer anger and frustration.

"That filthy cockroach. He did it again."

He was reading Jimenez's newest publication. An article on  _his_  progress on STEM, using a biological mind as the main host for the collective consciousness instead of the machine itself.

The Director wasn't the only one treading on thin ice; Ruvik needed to put Jimenez back in his place as well.

Little did Ruvik know that both men had already planned a pre-emptive strike that would erase any chance he could have at fighting back and recovering what he had lost.

* * *

"You published my research in your name again. Did you think I wouldn't find out?"

Jimenez felt the urge to step back from his once-apprentice as the man, dressed only in those tattered robes he seemed to favour whenever Sofia wasn't around, took menacing steps towards him. However, said urge wasn't due to fear, but shame.

No matter the atrocities that Ruvik had committed in his life time, Jimenez couldn't bring himself to hate him. Ruben wasn't only a means-to-an-end for the senior scientist, he was like some sort of prodigal son to him.

Jimenz had watched him grow.

He had known Ruben since he was a little boy. He had encouraged him to always feed his genius; treated his wounds after the fire; initiated him on a scientific career and worked with him for years. He had watched the boy lose his sister and parents, and descend in his own personal hell; watched him fall in love and recover some of his sanity; and then watched everything being taken from him once again, plummeting him in a whole new level of madness and hate.

One from which he wouldn't be allowed the chance to recover again.

After all, Jimenez had no choice but to follow the Director's orders and betray Ruben. No matter how much guilt it would bring him, the doctor would always put science and Mobius – and himself – first.

_Maybe they won't kill him. Maybe they'll just…_

Torture him into complying with their wishes? Even the better of the two options wasn't good enough to appease the man's conscious…

However, Ruvik wasn't only his prodigal son, he was also means-to-an-end and Jimenez would use them to exhaustion.

So, shoulders squared and a fake, dismissing look on his face, Jimenez answered:

"And I have done you a favour."

And he knew that the only favour he was doing Ruben was helping him leave this world that had nothing but pain and misery to offer him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is how it ends for Ruben - for now. What do you think about it? :)
> 
> I had a great time writing this last scene; I don't know why, but I really enjoy writing Jimenez's character. While most - if not all - fics show Jimenez as devoid of any sort of conscious regarding his participation in Ruben's death, the DLC makes it quite clear he hadn't wished for it and, in his own way, felt guilty for it.
> 
> Anyway, I really hope this chapter was worth the wait. Hopefully, next one will come around sooner. =.=
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid


	19. Chapter 19: New Beginnings

" _It's done."_

Tatiana sighed at the words assaulting her brain through the cell phone and her eyes immediately settled on Sofia. The woman was sitting on a beach chair beneath their parasol, calmly reading her book; completely oblivious to the cruelty that had taken place the night before, not 400 kilometres away from her.

"This will break her heart."

" _I know this will be a difficult task for you, but you have to tell Sofia immediately. If she finds out later, through other means-"_

"I know. She'll feel betrayed. Also, it would only serve to increase the suspicions she's sure to have about Mobius involvement in the "accident". I just hope you've managed to cover all the details and left no room to reasonable doubt."

" _You know I don't leave loose ends, Tatiana. And neither will you. Good luck."_

* * *

Alone, Sofia walked into the Victoriano mansion.

The hall of entrance was the same as ever: large, beautiful… empty. Not at all like one would expect of a building in which an explosion had taken place.

Then again, Ruben had always been cautious to seal his basement from the rest of the world. Nothing entered the place without his avail, and nothing left it either, not even flames and soot.

Slowly and numbly, the woman walked around the place, examining room by room, reminiscing about everything that had taken place there. About her and Ruben's disastrous first night together, then about the times he had convinced her to return to his home. They had, undoubtedly, spent much more time together inside her small apartment, but this place still held precious memories about her time with Ruben.

_Time that is forever over._

* * *

Inside the music room, Sofia's fingers ghosted over the piano's keys, allowing the soft sound to echo around her. It was comforting in a way; it reminded her of the times Ruben would play the piano for her. Some nights, Sofia would carry thick duvets and pillows from the bedrooms to the place and both would spend the night there, entwined in the covers and themselves. The music room had always been Ruben's favourite place in his home, and had grown to be Sofia's as well.

And this would be the last time she'd ever enter this room, this mansion. Because, even though the place would remain standing, without Ruben it all became meaningless and painfully empty and Sofia had enough emptiness inside herself already.

So she sat down at the piano and started to play Clair de Lune with the slowness and hesitancy of an untrained adult. Sofia didn't have any illusions about being capable of actually  _playing_  the instrument, however she had watched Ruben play that particular song many, many times and, once or twice, he had even tried to teach it to her. She just wished she had tried a little harder to master this particular tune so the melody currently surrounding her would be softer and more fluid. More like how it sounded when Ruben played.

However, the doctor never cared to practice so much and, after not one minute playing, she missed a couple of keys, ruining the song.

And reminding herself that it wasn't Ruben the one playing it to her.

Pain tightening her chest, Sofia lowered her hands from the keyboard, laying them gently on her lap. And she just… stood there, staring dejectedly at the instrument with unseeing eyes that were overflowing with tears.

She felt numbness and emotion battle inside her. There was a bumbling of emotions threatening to spill out of her in the form of explosive screaming and crying, but her body and brain didn't seem to fully comprehend the intensity of those feelings, allowing nothing more than silent tears to escape her eyes and show the world she was hurting.

Hurting due to loss, regret, sadness, guilt and anger.

Sofia knew someone was to blame for Ruben's death, she knew she  _wanted_  someone to blame for it. But she wasn't sure who.

Should she blame the Director? It wasn't too far-fetched to believe Mobius was behind the explosion inside the mansion's basement and she knew the administrator had an especial dislike for Ruben and was just dying to remove him from the STEM experiments.

But, maybe she should blame Ruben? He was always pushing himself to his limits; it would be so easy for him to suddenly pass out while twinkling with the STEM machinery. It didn't take much effort to believe he had, indeed, been the responsible for the machine exploding. The scientist, after all, lived off the fantasy that he was God and could do whatever he pleased without facing consequences.

And… there was also herself to blame. If she had maintained her relationship with Ruben, she could've convinced him to accommodate some of the Director's wishes and not pushed the man to the point of murder. If she hadn't left Ruben, he wouldn't have worked himself to exhaustion – she wouldn't have let him; not alone – and caused the explosion that killed him.

Yes… the more she thought about it, the more she understood the blame was hers to carry. In both scenarios, she could've saved his life. If only she had been a bit more understanding, a bit stronger. If only she hadn't given up on him…

"Oh, Ruben." The woman whispered in regret, covering her faces with her hands. "I'm so sorry."

* * *

True to his God-complex, Ruvik never saw himself as a mortal, as someone under the risk of dying and, because of that, he never saw the need to write a will.

However, despite all his disagreements with the Director, he had signed a contract with Mobius, which determined that, in case of death without a specified heir, all his belongings, capital and lands would become the company's property. Not only that, they'd be responsible for arranging his funeral or, according to the Director, cremation.

At finding out the man's intentions about dealing Ruben's body, Sofia wasted no time in raising her voice to beg and demand the right to deal with the post-mortem arrangements. Fire had taken sister, skin, health, sanity and life away from Ruben and the woman would not stand quiet and allow the Director to burn what was left of him to ashes.

Surprisingly, it didn't take much for the woman to convince the Director to do her said "curtesy". On the contrary, he was much obliging and empathetic towards her loss, putting himself and Tatiana at her disposal if she ever needed anything. And making her feel more and more that Ruben's death was solely her fault.

Still, Sofia did what she could to honour Ruben's memory.

She arranged for his remains to be buried instead of cremated as originally planned, and she made it so his grave was nowhere near his parents' tomb. She tried to locate Laura's body to bury him with her but couldn't find anything, so she settled for a lonely grave in an isolated area of one of the city's private cemeteries.

Also, she asked for Ruben's piano to be moved into her apartment. No doubt, seeing the instrument everyday of her life, being reminded of everything that happened between her and Ruben... it would be immensurable torture. But it would be better than allow that piano to be left abandoned inside the mansion or given away as a present to some generous sponsor of the Director's beloved company. That piano was precious to Ruben and Sofia wouldn't let anything happen to it.

* * *

Sofia knew she had made the right choice in keeping the piano, however, during the first couple of months after Ruben's funeral, she deeply hated herself for it.

During those weeks, she had received – been forced to take – a leave from work in Mobius and Beacon. Because of that, she couldn't drown herself in her work and forget her emotional suffering as she was so used to do. Instead, she stayed home, staring at that piano for hours on a row, not knowing what else she could do.

Those long hours of emotional self-flagellation were always interrupted by Tatiana. The psychologist would always drop by Sofia's apartment after her shifts and drag the woman to a night out in town or, when they didn't feel like leaving, bring groceries and stay for dinner.

Thanks to that, Sofia started to slowly return to her usual self and no longer stood in front the instrument, observing it just for the sake of remembering Ruben. She started to go out by herself. Short walks through the neighbourhood, doing groceries and seeing her patients (even if just a visitor) soon became part of her routine. Once or twice, she dared to go to the cemetery to leave flowers on Ruben's lonely grave.

Then, on the end of her months-long period of grief, she went to Mobius' Administration offices to check in with the Director and ask him about the STEM project.

* * *

To her utmost surprise, the Director claimed to have suspended the experiments of project. Without Ruben to reverse the calibration of the machine, there was no way for them to continue it yet. Naturally, he had Jimenez and some other scientists and hackers working on it every once in a while but, so far, no luck. She didn't have to worry though; whenever he deemed prudent, he'd call her back in the project.

Until then, why not get involved with some other of Mobius' current experiments? As soon as her leave ended, that was; he wanted her to take as much time as needed to recover before getting back to work.

Sofia accepted without a second thought and claimed to be ready to work. The Director agreed to let her back in Mobius' laboratories, under strict supervision, and promised to talk to Jimenez about terminating her leave and allow her back in Beacon Mental Hospital as a psychiatrist, as soon she was deemed health for work, that is.

* * *

It took her some months of intense psychiatric treatment, but in the end Sofia Prieto had completely returned to her old self: an introspective doctor who spent way too much time with her patients and in laboratories and not nearly enough in her home.

Maybe she had needed the help of some anti-depressants on the beginning but, as the months passed her by, the medications were reduced little by little and then, completely removed.

Sofia had also started and maintained therapy with someone other than Tatiana. She and the psychologist had become much too close to be able to separate a professional relationship from their friendship, so both thought it better that way. Of course, that didn't stop Tatiana from giving her opinion to Sofia every time they went out together, which had become an habit for them.

The only constant in Sofia's life that didn't seem to slowly improve over time was Leslie. The boy had never been able to completely recover from being connected to Ruvik's STEM.

Instead of frustration, the doctor felt guilt regarding the boy's condition, something that only boosted her drive to treat and care for him as best as she could. Ultimately, Sofia completely gave up working in Beacon's laboratories, choosing to dedicate all of her time in the hospital to Leslie and her patients, and she made sure that the hours she spent working in Mobius' laboratories didn't inconvenience her job as a psychiatrist.

Six months after Ruben's death, the doctor found herself back in a well-established routine, just like she liked it.

Then, it all fell apart once again.

* * *

"Is it true? Is it really working?"

The Director tended to be a very… authoritarian man when it came to his office; he simply despised when people barged in unannounced or unrequested. However, taking into account the situation at hand he thought better to allow it, this time. So, holding back the urge to scold the woman standing right in front of him with her open palms laid on top of his desk, the man raised his eyes to the woman's anxiously wide ones and smiled.

"Yes. Two weeks ago, Jimenez, with the help of other scientists of ours, has finally succeeded in overruling Ruben's calibration on the STEM. They've created a new…  _software_ , if you will, that allows us to use the machine in Beacon without it being connected to Ruben. We call it Ruvik."

Sofia felt her heart fail her for a second. Those news were good- no, more than that; they were wonderful. Once the STEM system was perfected, she would finally be able to help Leslie recover from the trauma that his first connections to the machine caused him. She could finally undo the damage she had allowed Ruben to do to him. Not only that, the machine would also open uncountable doors to psychiatric treatment. For the first time since she had first began to work with human experimentations in the STEM project, the doctor felt truly hopeful and elated at its promises.

But those news also made the woman feel as if a bolus had formed in her throat. Guilt and dread merged together to form an almost suffocating sensation that something would go wrong. The STEM was Ruben's. It had been made by him,  _for_  him. What rights did they- did Mobius have on using it? None at all, and it made her feel as if Ruben would raise from the dead to personally enforce punishment upon them.

"There are some minor problems, though-"

And there he was.

"-It seems the machine still retains the hostile configurations Ruben was so keen on using, projecting a violent and actively aggressive environment for the subjects we've connected so far. Every person we connect to STEM dies in much the same way they used to when Ruben was the one leading the experiments." The Director continued. "And this is where you come in, Sofia."

"You wish me to find a way to overcome this obstacle." Sofia concluded, hands trembling at the prospect of working once again with STEM.

"Yes. Jimenez's… resourcefulness when it comes to overcoming new obstacles has never been completely satisfactory. The good doctor always tends to be much too passive to my tastes. You, on the other hand, has always proved to think outside the box, my dear. And Myra and I will feel much safer knowing that we'll have you to count with to ensure our lives and sanity."

Sofia's eyes doubled their size at what she heard and her mouth immediately dropped open to say something,  _anything_  that could show just how shocking and downright imprudent the meaning behind those words were. Unfortunately, only croaked gasps left her throat, allowing the Director plenty of time to chuckle at her reaction and confirm her words.

"You heard right, Sofia I intend to connect ourselves to STEM - alongside yet another associate of Mobius, called Myra Hanson - and I wish to put you in charge of ensuring our safe return. What do you say?"

Sofia's first urge was to scream a loud "no" in his face, accompanied by a very long list of reasons they shouldn't endanger themselves like that, let alone trust her, who had been completely out of the project for so many months in a row, in charge of their lives.

_But what choices do they have?_

The Director was right, while very smart and good on picking up and working on other people's ideas, Jimenez wasn't very good in coming up with his own. Unless they had found another person as brilliant as Ruben –  _not likely_  – she was their best bet at coming up with some sort of counter-measure to whatever it was in the machine that was killing the test subjects.

Undoubtedly, it would be the greatest challenge in her life so far. And that was a very good thing, for Sofia Prieto never backed down from a challenge.

"I accept."

* * *

As much as the doctor believed in her own creativity, Sofia ended up basing herself on one of Ruben's creations and designs to develop a way to overcome the hostile environment inside STEM. She thought about how Ruben had managed to download content on one's brain through his Upgrade Chair and came up with a shot that would be much like a "firewall", protecting the brain from being consumed by the hazards inside the STEM.

* * *

"But, remember that not always is a firewall capable of protecting a computer. This shot might not be capable of completely override STEM." The doctor explained as a couple of nurses applied the shots on the Director and the new woman, Myra Hanson.

Hanson was a woman with bleached blonde hair and aristocratic features that were impossible to misplace. Even if her name had been given as Myra Hanson, the doctor immediately recognized her as Myra Castellanos, the detective whom had approached her to ask about Beacon's missing patients years ago. It instantaneously raised many questions in Sofia's head, buts she held them back, alongside any sort of facial expression that showed recognition about the woman. She wasn't sure what Myra was doing there but, judging from the way she had feigned ignorance about her identity as well, Sofia felt that it would be better to just play along and not alert the Director about their previous "relationship". Either it would bring unnecessary headache or it would be completely insignificant, and neither situation appealed to the doctor at the moment.

So she just continued talking about the STEM.

"It will help to keep your brain safe, but I'm not sure to what extent. The data we have about the levels of corruption in the STEM is still limited. Also, I'm not sure what effect the machine will have on a sane consciousness. So… "

Sofia was visibly worried about her invention not being capable to safeguard Mobius' workers. It was the very first time other people's lives depended so directly and completely on her and she wouldn't forgive herself if those two died in her hands. It was a terrible sensation and, not for the first time, Sofia wondered how her parents could enjoy so much being in such situations in their daily lives as cardiothoracic surgeons.

"Sofia."

Startled, the woman raised her eyes to the Director, whom had called her name and was staring at her with encouraging eyes. "So?"

"So, let's keep this first contact with STEM as safe as possible, alright? 30 minutes, maximum. And don't delve in too deeply once your consciousness are inside; the deeper you go, the more susceptible you are to the machine's corruption." The doctor concluded, forcing her more apathetic and pragmatic side to take over. "I'll be monitoring your brainwaves and vitals from the main room. At the slightest sign of a dangerous disturbance, I'll disconnect the twp of you. The process may take up to ten minutes so I want you two to get away from the source of danger as fast as you can and try to find some sort of safe zone to protect your minds. If our previous results with STEM are still valid – which they most likely are – the less contact you maintain with the environment, the safer your consciousness is from being corrupted by it. Also, I want you two to trust any sort of premonitions, 'dejá vu's or bad feelings you get there. Your mind will be connected to each other and to the machine's host, Ruvik; so it's not too far-fetched to believe that you may receive warnings about nearby and future perils in the form of negative emotions or even physical sensations, like nausea and headaches. And at any sign of those perils-"

"Run and hide." The Director concluded, staring at the doctor ranting in front of him with amusement in his eyes. "We understood it the first ten times, Sofia."

The doctor had the decency to blush in embarrassment and look the other way.

"Sorry." She said sheepishly. "I just worry."

* * *

And she had every reason to.

7 minutes inside the STEM and everything was going smoothly. Then, suddenly, the duo's brainwaves went completely haywire, as if a thunderstorm had been unbound in their brains.

Immediately, the doctor and her assistants started to run around the machine following the systematic protocol to disconnect the two subjects with efficient haste.

Anxious and fearful, Sofia watched with wide eyes the electric currents showing on the monitor in front of her, deciphering every swift change almost instantaneously as either them managing to run from danger or them being dragged deeper into it.

6 minutes and 43 seconds later, Sofia released a breath she didn't know she had been holding and fell to her knees in front of the computers.

They had done it. They had survived the STEM with no brain damage to account for. Only their hands showed any sign of contact with the machine: a strange cut in the palm.

It was eerily similar to an orbitoclast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it for now. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :D (despite Ruben being dead and all...XP)
> 
> What do you think about my explanations about how the Administrator and Myra got their scars on their hands? Hopefully it wasn't too far-feteched... =.=
> 
> And don't worry! Ruvik will eventually return to this fic. After all, I doubt Sofia would be able not to involve herself with the wi-fi activation of STEM if she tried. XPXP
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid


	20. Chapter 20: Preparing The Battlefield

So much power.

_Too much._

Alone in his room inside Mobius medical facilities, the Director glared at the bandages wrapped around his left hand. He had witnessed the terror in his test subjects' eyes and watched their bodies trash inside bathtubs full of water as they fought against monsters that were literally inside their heads, but only now that he had experienced first-hand their terror did he truly understand just how cruel and horrifying the STEM was when in the wrong hands - in Ruvik's hands.

_How can he still be alive inside STEM, commanding it so? That should've been impossible._

Impossible or not, it was happening. And they  _needed_  to remove Ruvik from the picture completely if they wished to have the slightest chance at using the machine properly, in a way that agreed to Mobius' objectives. They had to move forwards.

And yet, experimentations with the machine had to be interrupted, immediately.

Their STEM in Beacon, the one connected to Ruben's brain and the only working terminal, would be of no help if it only served to torture their test subjects to death in few minutes, as it had tried to do to him and Myra. They needed to keep test subjects time connected to the machine for a prolonged to complete an adequate analysis of it and, finally, try and create an adequate substitute to Ruvik as the main host of the reality created by the merging of multiple consciousness. They needed  _time_  in there, more than the meager minutes he had managed to survive.

_Barely 14 minutes… it felt like hours._

The Director tightened his fists, remembering all that he had seen inside the STEM. He didn't care about using people's lives as sacrificial pawns to achieve his objectives, but actively torturing them without any promises of advancement? Killing them, just because? That was beyond the Director and Mobius, and he wouldn't stand for it. They were scientists, not butchers like Ruben was-  _is._

"Director?"

The voice came from just outside the door, followed by a soft knock on the wood and the Director didn't hesitate in answering.

"Come in, Sofia."

The doctor entered the room and immediately set her sight on the Director's vitals and ECG being shown on the monitors by his bed. Without her realizing, a relieved sigh escaped her lips at finding everything in perfect order as she walked to the bed.

"How are you feeling? Any headaches or nausea? Double vision?"

"No. Everything seems to be fine."

"What about the hand?"

"It still throbs a little, but nothing unbearable."

"Good." Sofia let out, giving the man a small smile that soon morphed in a guilty expression. "I'm sorry, Director. It's my fault the two of you were put in such danger. I should've-"

"You  _should_  be studying how to improve your safety measures against the STEM instead of wasting your time checking up on healthy people such as I. Go make yourself useful. For real this time." The Director shot back coldly.

As much as she wanted to, Sofia didn't flinch or protest at the Director's harsh words. Instead, she pursued her lips and turned face to the side so she could glare at the wall by her side. She nodded once and made to walk out of the room, but a large hand closing around her wrist firmly kept her in place.

"I'm sorry; that was uncalled for. I'm alright, Sofia, and so is Myra. It truly isn't your fault we're in this state. You had limited information and time to create a defence mechanism against a machine that took us six years to build. Considering the circumstances, you did a great job and it's only because of you that the two of us got out alive and without brain damage."

The Director's soft words did nothing to ease the tension in the woman's muscles as she turned around to face the man once again.

"If possible, I'd like to have a full report about what you experienced connected to STEM. Please, be as detailed as possible. What you saw and heard, what you  _think_  you saw and heard, what you felt, what you touched and smelt… everything. It may be of great help for me to come up with a better version of the shot. If I understand what it is that put you two in such danger, I may come up with better mechanisms for the next test subjects to evade said danger." Sofia spoke in a calm voice.

There were some minutes of tense silent as both stared at each other in hesitation before the doctor allowed herself to relax despite the man's firm grip on her wrist.

"I'm very sorry for my failure, Director. I know you expected more of me. However, I'm not sure to what extend we're capable of protecting one's consciousness once inside STEM. As much as we may try to help and intervene, their survival will depend almost solely on what they experience once connected, especially their actions and decisions." Sofia explained. "That Ruvik configuration you talked about… we need to find a way to erase it completely and start from scratch, creating a STEM reality without the brutal hostility against new consciousness being connected to it."

The Director sighed and let go of the woman's wrist. If only she knew how close to his own intentions her words were.

"I agree with you, Sofia. However, until we find a way to replace Ruvik, we must learn more from it and the only way we can do that is by acquiring more data about its workings-"

"Director." Sofia cut in in an almost outrageous voice. "Performing more experiments with the STEM would be just cruel. There's just no way our test subjects can survive it for long enough for us to collect any significant data."

"Not yet." The man put in. "Until you develop more advanced safety precautions, we're halting every sort of experimentation with Beacon's terminal. Mobius' resources and facilities, including our STEM machine, are at your disposal."

Sofia's eyes widened. "Director, I-"

"We're counting on you, Dr Prieto. Our new head scientist on the STEM Project."

* * *

Surrounded by audio tapes, scientific notebooks and blueprints in his lonely apartment, Jimenez studied with a drive that could only come from knowing that all he had battled for in his life was being threatened.

_The Director. How dare him._

As much as the senior doctor would like to blame Sofia for his sudden demotion in Mobius' STEM Project, he knew it wasn't her fault. The woman never cared much for promotions, power and public recognition; she cared about her patients and scientific progress. Her new leading position had been as much as a surprise to her as it had been for him. She had acquired said position by simply doing the best she could, and it was time for Jimenez to do the same.

After the "accident" that killed Ruben and incinerated most of the underground laboratories in the Victoriano estate, all of the scientists' documents had been left in Jimenez's hands. The Director had demanded him to read and listen to every word and type them all into digital files for easier storage and access.

And in those documents, Jimenez had found both the key to his doom and the key to his success.

An audio tape held the first key. It was small, old and unassuming thing, but the information it contained was so grand it could- no, it  _would_  fix their problems regarding Beacon's STEM once and for all.

" _Subject's case history cites developmental delays and indicates issue with communication, social cognition and repetitive behaviours. Signs of synaesthesia reported. Genealogy suggests increased susceptibility to external stimuli and pattern adaptiveness. Could you be what I've been searching for all these years? And under my own nose… Unbelievable. There can be no mistake. This one is… compatible."_

Leslie Withers. The poor man-child was compatible with Ruben. His brain, innocent and harmless, could replace Ruvik's vicious one as the host to STEM.

Without thinking, Jimenez reached for the boy's files, the ones kept a secret from everyone but Ruben, himself and his brother Valerio. The ones about the murder of his family.

* * *

_Valerio, much like his brother, was a psychiatrist. However, unlike Marcelo, whom had dreamed high and went to Krimson City and Mobius to make a great career for himself, Valerio had chosen to stay on a small town - a village really - working in a make-do hospice that, most of the times, served also as a hospital and infirmary. Not much happened in that small, religious village so the hospice was good enough for them._

_Then, one night, it wasn't anymore._

_Valerio had finished checking upon the couple of patients that were staying with him in the hospice for the night and was readying himself for bed when someone started to violently slam on his door._

_Startled, the doctor put his shirt back on and went down the stairs as fast as he could to answer the door. Mary and Anna, two kind women of the village, were standing there. They lived together with their husbands in a small house at the foot of the hill and were currently working as maids for a family that had rented the large summerhouse on top of the hill._

" _Doctor, please! You have to help! There's so much blood!" Mary pleaded in a desperate voice._

_Valerio looked down their bodies, looking for any sign of injuries, but found nothing. Not one drop of blood._

" _No, it's not us, doctor! It's that new family that's been living in the house over the hill for the last week!" Anna spoke quickly, tears overflowing from her eyes. "We woke up with the sound of heavy thumping and, when we looked outside, we saw some men running from the summerhouse. Worried, we woke our husbands and went there to see if everything was okay and- Oh God! Please, doctor, you have to help them!"_

" _Anna, calm down!" Valerio spoke firmly, albeit his large hands were already starting to sweat. "Listen to me, there's a telephone in my office. I want you to go there and call 911. Explain the situation and tell them to send help as soon as possible, alright?" Still crying softly, the woman nodded. "Good. I'll go with Mary to see what I can do."_

_With speed that betrayed his large frame, Valerio ran inside to grab his first aid kit – it was not much, but it was what he had – and ran with Mary to the house._

* * *

_In all his years working as a doctor, Valerio had never seen something so gruesome. Blood painted the floor and walls of the living room and, from the sheer amount of red he was seeing, he knew that none of the bodies lying around would ever move again._

_Hands trembling and sweat covering all of his body, the doctor venture further into the place and the more he saw, the sicker he felt._

_The blood on the floor composed a drawing of some sort, something that he recognized as one of the symbols the most religious folk around liked to carry with them. The bodies had all been arranged around the symbol, facing it. They were in a kneeled in a praying position, their torsos and hands being held up by a stake that had been driven into the wood of the floor. Copper crosses had been plunged into their hearts._

_**This was a ritualistic mass murder.** _

_Valerio felt his knees shake and had to use the wall by his side as support to keep his body standing. However, instead of touching the wall, his large hand slammed on the wooden surface of an armoire, making it shake roughly._

_A high-pitched noise, somewhere between a moan and a sob echoed from inside it._

_Without thinking, Valerio quickly pulled the doors open, desperate to find a living person, someone he could actually help._

_A small albino boy, crouched on the floor of the armoire, stared up at him with fearful eyes, red from his silent crying. He stared at him with those wide blue orbs of his for minutes that felt like hours._

_Then he started slightly rocking his body, something he'd continue doing for the rest of his life._

" _It's alright." Valerio cooed, kneeling on the floor in front of him. Slowly, the large man stretched his arms to the boy and picked him up._

" _The good doctor is here."_

* * *

_Due to the ritualistic nature of the killings and the fear of allowing such a mentally scarred child into the foster system, Valerio hid the boy in his hospice, allowing the authorities to assume he had been taken by the murderers._

_Only two months later, when he received news that the culprits had been arrested, Valerio finally allowed the boy out of the building. Together, they drove to a nearby town, also much smaller than most cities around, but large enough to have its own city hall and child protective service. There, Valerio claimed to have found the child a month ago, wandering alone in the woods near the village. He said he hadn't come before because the boy's health was much too poor to leave the hospice, and requested to become the boy's caretaker._

_Investigations about the boy's origins never happened and, faster than usual, Valerio saw himself as the boy's official guardian. After that, the boy's name had officially become Leslie Withers._

_Years passed and Leslie never returned to normal, despite Valerio's best efforts to heal Leslie's mind. Many times, he had asked his brother Marcelo to come and pay a visit, after all, unlike him whom had chosen a simpler path in his career, Marcelo was a world-renowned psychiatrist. He could help him heal Leslie._

_Every time, Marcelo complied to his brother's wishes, always explaining that the boy needed full-time multi-professional help, not just seldom visits from him._

_After much reluctance, Valerio allowed Marcelo to take Leslie to his hospital - Beacon Mental Hospital - and, for the first time in years, disclosed the boy's true past to someone else, demanding his brother to continue to keep it a secret._

_On the beginning, Valerio would call frequently to check up on Leslie and even drive to Krimson City to see the boy. Then, as years went by, the calls became less frequent and the visits gradually lessened before becoming rare events._

_Suddenly, even the calls ended – the ones about Leslie and the ones about other matters. However, Marcelo was much too deep in his research with STEM and paid it no mind._

_Unknown to Marcelo, in the small village, a hundred or so kilometres away, all the town's folk could talk about was the disappearance of their dear doctor._

* * *

Now that Jimenez thought about it, it had been a couple of years since he had heard from his brother at all. He should give him a call whenever he had the time.

But not now that he was coming upon such astoundingly useful information.

Maybe, the claimed compatibility between Ruben and Leslie was related to the fact that both had lost their loved ones at a very young age. But, if he wanted to be sure, Jimenez would need to perform many experiments still…

However, the causes weren't important at the moment; what mattered was keeping this information from Mobius for as long as he could. He needed time to re-establish his place in the organization.

And the blueprints at his right showed just how he'd do it. They were his second key.

* * *

"A wireless connection?"

The Director didn't try to hide his scepticism as the words left his mouth. No doubt, being capable to connect subjects to the STEM system via Wi-Fi would be extremely useful, if not perfect to ensure a quick and safe disconnection in case of danger. However, the person proposing it to him… well, he had let Mobius down many times before and the Director had long ago lost his faith in his abilities.

"Yes! If it all goes according to my calculations, I think we'll be able to-"

"What about Ruben's documents? Have you finished going through them as I told you to?"

Jimenez had to fight back the urge to glare at the Director and force a submissive front as he lied without hesitation.

"No, but-"

"Then finish it, Jimenez. Once you're done, you can present us your project. And stop slacking with your work in our labs. Sofia might be almost done with that infusion, but I hear she's also working on a new update for the STEM, trying to create a safe haven – _The Hub_ , she called it – for the people we connect to the machine. That interests me, Jimenez. It interests me  _very much_ , and Sofia's schedule to have The Hub ready for testing ranges from 5 months to a whole year. And I don't have to tell you which delivery date pleases the most, do I?"

"Of course, Director. I'll do my best."

* * *

While he held back on information about his findings in Ruben's documents, Jimenez worked on his own personal project in Beacon. Its progress was rather slow, seeing as he still had to work in Sofia's research with Mobius and had obligations as the administrator of Beacon, but he managed to instal the wireless option in the STEM machine of his hospital - the one with  _Ruvik -,_  following Ruben's blueprints and notations step-by-step.

Then, he decided to do something bigger.

Why should he limit the signal to the room in which the STEM was being held? Why not expand the signal, so he could connect anyone in the hospital? It would surely cause a bigger impression on Mobius.

Unfortunately, before he was done, he had to turn in the all the data retrieved from the Victoriano mansion and, while he didn't think twice before replacing the sketches and notations about enabling a wireless connection in the machine for a bit more of the already known particularities of STEM, he didn't dare to hide Leslie's compatibility regarding Ruvik. Eventually, the Director would demand to know why so many of Ruben's experiments involved the boy and he'd be in very big trouble. Also, Leslie was now a very valuable leverage piece.  _His_  leverage piece.

And he'd do anything to keep it that way. Even turn-on the STEM and drag dozens of innocent people into its hellish depths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can probably deduce, next chapter we'll get started on the game. Let's see how well (or how poorly) Sofia will fare in STEM, huh? ;)
> 
> On another note, do you remember how I wrote that Leslie had been abandoned in Valerio's hospice when he was young? Well, back then the DLC hadn't come out yet so we were left to guess about Leslie's background and, well... I guessed wrong. =.=   
> Still, I did my best to wrap that with the cannon plot and make a believable connection, as well as give poor Valerio some sort of screen time. I hope you liked it :D
> 
> Also, we get to see some reference's to the origins of The Hub and Kidman's shot! XDXD
> 
> Anyway, please tell me what you think about all this. I'd love to know if it was congruent with the game. =.=
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid
> 
> PS: I'll be going on a trip soon (summer vacations are finally here for me! *.*) but I hope to update next chapter sometime this month. Still, if I don't manage to, let me just wish you all a (very) advanced Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! :D


	21. Chapter 21: Lucid Nightmare

The air conditioning in Beacon Mental Hospital was broken, but that was nothing new. What was new was the fact that, instead of not working at all as usual, it was acutally functioning at full potency, making the day, already cold and rainy, seem even gloomier.

 _Great day to skip my work in Mobius to pick up on the paperwork here…_ Sofia lamented with a sigh as she typed yet another patient record in her computer. The new software in the hospital was driving everyone nuts with the constant need to update every single hand-written file into the system. _At least I'll get to spend at little more time with Leslie once I'm do-_

Sofia's train of thought came to a halt and she raised her right hand to her head in pain as a violent screeching sound assaulted her eardrums. Her vision blurred and her stomach did that flip-flop characteristic of when she dreamt of falling down and woke up with a startle.

Then, just as sudden as they started, those unpleasant sensations all halted, leaving Sofia to stare at her computer's screen with confused eyes that quickly settled on the small clock at its bottom right.

_16:34. I've been at this for three hours now. I need a break; maybe check up on Leslie again._

Then, her eyes returned to the just started text in the screen. It really bothered her, to leave things unfinished.

_As soon as I'm done with this one._

* * *

Sofia knew something was wrong when she walked out of her office to find absolute silence. Beacon was never that quiet. Well, maybe late at night and during dawn, but not at that hour in the afternoon.

_I have a bad feeling about this._

The doctor felt cold sweat streak down her back and started to march towards the playroom in a hurried and purposeful stride. The sound of the heels of her shoes hitting the floor echoed through the empty corridors in an almost deafening magnitude.

When she reached the playroom and opened the doors, Sofia found her bad feeling was more than justified.

Said bad feeling was soon joined by a powerful urge to vomit that the doctor managed to hold back by sheer force of will as her eyes took in the scene in front of her and her brain tried to make any sense of it. The corpses of two nurses and three patients were sprawled on the floor amidst toys and beanbags; the scarlet of the blood streaking down their slit throats contrasting cruelly with the cheerfully and multi-coloured carpets.

Immediately, the woman's eyes examined each and every face, recognizing and naming them in seconds. She felt the need to hurl again, but once again held it back when her brain clicked with one little piece of information:

Leslie wasn't amongst those corpses.

"Leslie!" Sofia whispered desperately as she softly closed the doors behind her with trembling hands. The killer might've still been out there. "Are you in here, Leslie?"

Her answer was a pained and repetitive whispering of her name coming from behind of one of the window curtains. That small sound, overflowing with fear and need was all that Sofia needed to numb herself against the image and smell of the dead people around her and focus solely on survival - Leslie's and hers. Once they were safe she could break down in tears, but not before.

Lips pursued, the woman ran to the boy and pulled up the curtain, revealing Leslie's crouched and trembling form.

"Leslie, thank god." Sofia breathed out, crouching down in front of him as she reached for the phone inside her white coat pocket and immediately called the police. "Listen to me. I'm calling help but, until they come, we have to be very quiet, alright?"

Leslie immediately stopped saying her name and the only sound reaching the doctor's ears was the soft and feminine voice coming from her phone, stating that it was out its coverage area.

_It makes no sense. Beacon has always had great signal._

Fear crawled up her spine. The doctor didn't truly understand what was happening, but she could easily comprehend just how serious the situation was. Her and Leslie's lives were in danger and apparently, they wouldn't be getting help any time soon.

"Leslie, listen to me." Sofia whispered, cradling his face in her hands. "You and me are walking out of here, alright? You remember where the exit is?" The boy nodded weakly. "Very close, right? It'll be easy, but we'll have to be very, _very_ quiet. Do you understand?" Again, the boy nodded. "Wonderful. Now come on. Let's get out of here."

Gently, Sofia pulled Leslie up to his feet and both walked to the door. The doctor opened a thin gap and made sure to check for any signs of the murderer – _murderers, most likely_ \- and once she was satisfied, she pushed the door open so they could walk out of the playroom and start to make their way to the door that lead to the entrance hall. Some lights in the corridors were flickering in a foreboding way but thankfully there were no more bodies or blood.

Soon, both were standing in front of the door, allowing Sofia to reach for its doorknob and turn it, intending on opening just a small gap and check the situation of the hall before actually stepping into the room when-

_"HE'S HERE!"_

With a strength that could only come from an adrenalin rush, Leslie pushed the woman to the side and stormed into the entrance hall in a clumsy way, holding his head with both hands, as if in sudden pain.

"Leslie, wait!"

Sofia took one purposeful stride in the boy's direction, ready to break into a run, when the door slammed shut in front of her, almost hitting her on the face. She tried to open the door again, but it didn't bulge.

"Leslie!" The woman yelled, hitting the door with her fists and feeling panic bubble in her chest. "Leslie, open this door! Leslie!"

Before the woman could yell another word, she heard something coming from behind her. A horrifying sound of a heavy chain dragging on the floor that made the muscles of her shoulders and back tense in fear. Slowly and trembling, Sofia took in a deep breath and turned around.

A man was standing at the end of the narrow corridor, unbearably imposing, and staring at Sofia with the most frightening pair of eyes she had ever seen; the left was grey, the right was blue, and both held promises of pain and death within them. He had messy platinum blonde hair that seemed to be completely white in some areas, and sharp, aristocratic features that strongly contrasted with his soft and full lips. His frame was lean - skinny even – and his height was slightly shorter than that of the average male. His feet were bare; his black dress pants were covered in what seemed to be white chalk powder and blood; his white dress shirt was untucked and completely unbuttoned, revealing a blood-covered, once-white shirt with the red logo of Beacon Mental Hospital in it. In his right hand, he held a thick and long chain with a broken collar at its end, both covered in brown, dried blood; in his left, a large red rose full of thorns that dug into his flesh, drawing a soft but continuous flow of fresh, crimson blood.

That was something scarily familiar about that man and it made Sofia's blood run cold. Swallowing her fear and ignoring the questions of how it was possible for such a creature to exist, the doctor pursued her lips and took a step back, pressing herself against the door and reaching for the doorknob behind her, trying once again to turn it and open the door.

As if sensing her futile attempts at regaining freedom, the man smiled cruelly to her, revealing a chipped right incisor.

And then he started walking to her with the calm gait of a born predator.

Immediately, Sofia's attempts at opening the door grew frantic and she even dared to turn her back to the approaching man so she could slam her body on the door to try and force it open. Her heart started to pound painfully in her chest as the blood-curling sound of that chain dragging across the floor grew closer and closer.

Then she could feel him right behind her, his chain rattling as he raised it above his head, ready to slam it down on her skull.

Teary eyes tightly shut, the doctor tried the doorknob one more time, moving to slam her shoulder with all her strength against the wood one final time. The chain was ready to make its way down now.

However, the door was opened from the outside just before the doctor's shoulder collided with the wood, so it was Sofia who went down, plummeting to the ground.

Startled, the woman opened her eyes just in time to raise her hands to brace herself against the rapidly approaching floor. The sound of the door slamming back shut behind her was the closest thing to ecstasy she had felt in a long time.

"Doctor Sofia Prieto?" A feminine voice called from above her. "I'm Junior Detec-"

"Behind you!" Sofia alerted, jumping to her feet as she turned around to face the door with wide and scared eyes. To her surprise and confusion, it remained shut; that… _creature_ wasn't trying to open it. "We need to get away from here. The murderer is behind that door."

The unknown woman's eyes narrowed and she quickly pulled out the gun from her holster, readying it for use and then reaching for the doorknob. She knew there was no murderer behind that door, but that didn't mean there wasn't something even more dangerous there. Without a word, she motioned with her head for Sofia to get back, which she promptly did, and with one quick motion pulled the door open and raised her weapon as she had been taught to do once in the field.

"Freeze! KCPD!"

But the corridor was completely empty, and silent. No mismatched eyes were staring at them, and no chain was dragging on the floor.

"What?" Sofia let out, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. "This doesn't make sense…"

"Nothing does at the moment." The woman responded, putting away her gun and turning to the doctor. "I'm Junior Detective Juli Kidman. I'm here to help you."

"You did help, thank you very much." The doctor spoke honestly, feeling her shoulders relax for an instant before tensing up again. "My patient, Leslie Withers, have you seen him? He's an albino, relatively short and thin and-"

"Don't worry. He's safe." Kidman interrupted and Sofia immediately relaxed. "He's with Dr Jimenez and another officer in an ambulance just outside the hospital. I came back here because he was very agitated and kept calling your name, so I thought it would be best to see if I could come and find you."

Sofia nodded and gave the woman a small and thankful smile. "Again, thank you for that. And for taking care of him. Should we go find them?"

"Yes-"

Sofia made to turn but Kidman's hands reached out to grab her shoulders, stopping her movement and keeping the doctor facing her. The Junior Detective had a very intense glint in her eyes as she spoke.

"Doctor, I want you to prepare yourself. What you're about to see will be gruesome, even for someone as lived as you. Just remember that Leslie is just outside, waiting for us. Stay calm and keep close to me. I'll do everything I can to keep you both alive."

That strong feeling of dread started to crawl back up Sofia's spine and the doctor had to take some deep breaths to keep herself from trembling on the spot. Mustering every ounce of self-control she had, Sofia willed herself to go numb and ignore her emotions for the time being… just like she did when experimenting with the STEM.

"I'll be fine." The doctor spoke firmly. "Let's go."

As soon as Kidman's hands fell from her shoulders, Sofia turned to face the entrance hall, ready for whatever she would find.

"Oh, god…"

Or so she thought.

No matter how much she had tried to disassociate herself from her emotions, Sofia could never be fully prepared to the scene that lay before her. Doctors, nurses, cleaning staff and patients – _her_ patients – lay dead all around the wide room, covering the floor and benches and walls with an obscene amount of blood.

It was impossible for a human being – even a group of them – to accomplish something like that without raising any sort of alarm. This was no killing spree, but the work of a monster; this was impossible. This was a nightmare. This was-

 _Oh god. It can't be… But there's no other explanation. We're inside_ _STEM_...  _But how?_

The doctor had no idea how it was possible but they all had been pulled inside the machine. It was the only acceptable explanation.

It made her vomit.

"Doctor!"

Sofia felt hands reach from behind and pull back her hair as she emptied the contents of her stomach on the floor.

"I'm sorry…" The sickened woman spoke. "I'll be fine. Just give me a moment."

Then, the ground started to shake.

"It seems we don't have a moment." The junior detective spoke, grabbing Sofia by the arm and pulling her fast across the room. "We need to go. Now."

In the blurs of her vision, Sofia saw the face of her patients and co-workers, all staring back at her with accusing eyes.

_You did this to us._

Tears finally forced their way out of Sofia's eyes as Kidman opened the hospital's double doors.

_I did. And I'm so sorry._

"Fuck, Doc! Snap out of it!"

It wasn't the loud volume as much as the timbre of desperation in Juli's voice that pulled Sofia from her guilt. How many times had she heard the same tone coming from her patients? She hadn't been able to ignore it then, and she wasn't able to do it now. Sofia still wasn't alone; she still had to be strong for someone else.

Eyes focused once again, the doctor found herself standing right outside the hospital, staring at the patio as if it was the first time she had ever seen it. The sun, she noticed, was struggling to grant them some of its warm light through the thick clouds in the sky. Kidman was at her right, pulling at her wrist to take her to the ambulance that was honking to get their attention. Sofia's gaze trailed up the junior detective's arm until it reached her face.

For a moment, both women stared into each other's eyes with the same intense determination of ensuring another's survival. No words were exchanged, but Kidman let go of the doctor's wrist and both ran to the ambulance, jumping in just as another tremor ran through the ground bellow them.

"Sofia!" Jimenez exclaimed in relief at seeing the doctor's form enter the vehicle. "Thank god, you're alright!"

"You too." The doctor spoke with her usual calm voice, sparing the old doctor a reassuring smile that didn't quite reach her tear-filled eyes before settling her gaze on Leslie. The boy was sitting by Jimenez, shaking in fear and murmuring her name. Sofia immediately went to sit by his other side, embracing his shoulders with her arm. "I'm here now, Leslie. It's alright. You saved me."

The boy turned to bury his head on the doctor's chest, continuing his repetitive chanting of her name. Sofia smiled softly and started to run her fingers through his hair.

"You alright, Ma'am?"

Sofia raised her eyes to the officer sitting behind the driver's wheel, who was looking worriedly at her through the small window that connected the two compartments of the ambulance.

"Yes. I'm sorry if I kept you all wai-"

Her words were interrupted by another quake; it was strong enough to shake the vehicle and make the ground across from them start to give in.

"-ting… Maybe we should get out of here before the ground beneath us give in as well. Is there someone else inside?"

"Two other detectives are still there." The officer answered, sparing a worried glance to the hospital's double doors. "Just a few more moments."

A booming sound came from outside and, with the exception of Leslie, all inside the ambulance froze and raised their eyes to the source, only to find the whole upper half of a building start to slid down to the ground.

After that foreboding vision, a tense silence enveloped them, only broken by the soft whimpers coming from Leslie.

That almost complete silence ended by the sweet sound of two double doors slamming on a wall. The detectives – or at least one of them – had left the hospital.

"Hold tight!" The officer behind the wheel warned before backtracking in a fast pace, until the ambulance was standing right in front of Beacon's entrance. **"Detective! Get in! Get in!"**

Those words seemed to be a starting signal for the city to increase the pace of its self-destruction, starting by the asphalt beneath the ambulance. It gave the officer no choice but to start moving the car.

Sofia felt Leslie's grip on her grow tighter but didn't dare to turn her face from the man jumping in the ambulance through the passenger's window. For one moment, she feared he wouldn't make it.

But, as she would find out later on, if there was someone who could make it through STEM it was that man, Detective Sebastian Castellanos.

* * *

Their ride through the decaying city was the most violent experience Sofia had had until that moment and the doctor was left to wonder how they had managed to make to the tunnel with all of their limbs still attached to them.

"Everyone alright back there?"

Startled by the detective's voice, Sofia looked up from Leslie to face him through the small window of the ambulance, for the first time being able to take a good look at the man. He had a rough appearance, but his eyes were warm and held a sort of paternal concern in them, especially when they settled on Leslie. The doctor liked him immediately.

"Just a few bumps." She heard Kidman answer. "We're fine."

Leslie's senseless murmuring turned into repetitive whispers of the words _fine_.

"We will be once we're far away…" Jimenez put in before turning his eyes to Sofia's.

Both doctors exchanged a meaningful look before returning their stares to Leslie once again.

Suddenly, Sofia felt something cold on her cheek, caressing the skin there gently before moving down to her lips and settling on her throat. Eyes wide, the doctor turned her head from side to side trying to pinpoint where this sensation was coming from, but she saw no one there besides Leslie, Jimenez and Kidman.

Leslie's soft whispers started to grow in volume until they became screams, but the word leaving his lips wasn't _fine_ anymore. It was-

_"Fall!"_

Suddenly, a hooded figure took shape in front of Sofia's eyes, and he was holding a scalpel to her throat. The woman felt her heart start to pound in her chest once again as the sharp end of the surgical tool dug into her skin, drawing a trick of blood. Slowly, she trailed her eyes up the man's figure, noticing that his skin was covered by a very familiar mosaic of scars.

_No. Please, don't let it be him._

Once she reached the man's face, her gaze settled on the most intense pair of silver eyes she had ever seen. Eyes that had plagued both her dreams and nightmares. Eyes that promised a torrid and depraved revenge.

And then, they all fell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is it for now! Hope you all enjoyed this introduction into the game and that I managed to put in some adequate suspense in this. XDXD
> 
> Happy New Year, everyone! Hope to hear from you all in 2016. :)
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid
> 
> PS: I just finished a game called Undertale and I can't help but say it: go play this game. It is simply amazing! S2
> 
> PSS: a while ago I posted a horror one-shot called "Little Red Riding Hood" that you guys might like. ;)


	22. Chapter 22: Discoveries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I'm sorry for how long it took me to update. Lately I've been rather busy (barely had the time to turn on my computer this week) and, truth be told, I've been having a hard time writing this fic (an author's block that hopefully won't last much longer). Anyway, I'm sorry about the delay. Hopefully next chapter will come out sooner.
> 
> And thank you for the comments! They really helped me to put a little more of effort in my writing and post this chapter despite the setbacks. :D

_Leslie's soft whispers started to grow in volume until they became screams, but the word leaving his lips wasn't fine anymore. It was-_

_"Fall!"_

_Suddenly, a hooded figure took shape in front of Sofia's eyes, and he was holding a scalpel to her throat. The woman felt her heart start to pound in her chest once again as the sharp end of the surgical tool dug into her skin, drawing a trick of blood. Slowly, she trailed her eyes up the man's figure, noticing that his skin was covered by a very familiar mosaic of scars._

No. Please, don't let it be him.

_Once she reached the man's face, her gaze settled on the most intense pair of silver eyes she had ever seen. Eyes that had plagued both her dreams and nightmares. Eyes that promised a torrid and depraved revenge._

_And then, they all fell._

* * *

Sofia recovered consciousness gradually and painfully. She could feel something struggling in her arms and an almost overbearing heat sweeping into her clothes and skin, but her brain was too sluggish to properly understand those sensations and the danger they could represent. It took her long minutes to finally manage to open her eyes and by then the creature struggling in her arms had long managed to get free.

Slowly, the doctor's eyesight focused, revealing to her the upside down insides of the ambulance. She was laying on her back on the vehicle's ceiling; Jimenez was unconscious with his legs weighting down on hers while Kidman was lying prone some distance to her right. And Leslie… should've been in her arms.

Suddenly completely alert, Sofia sat up in one desperate movement, moving her head from side to side so her wide eyes could search for Leslie. The only thing she found was the ambulance's back doors wide open.

"Jimenez, Kidman! Wake up! Leslie is gone!"

As those words left her mouth, Sofia pushed Jimenez's legs off her with fast but clumsy movements. Once free, she immediately crawled out of the ambulance. Once she found Leslie she could return to actually try and wake them up, but now she didn't have the time.

As soon as she stepped out of the vehicle, the woman's already wide eyes grew even larger. It was night time already, and she was in the middle of a dense and cold forest that, according to the city's maps, didn't actually exist. The moon, she noted, was tinted scarlet.

_So this is how extensively the STEM can change one's surroundings._

Sofia pulled her white coat tighter around herself as a gust of wind passed by, whispering an oath of cruel torments to come, both mental and physical. Pursuing her lips, the doctor pushed the foreboding feeling to the back of her mind and started to march forwards, calling out Leslie's name as loudly as she could.

* * *

If there was one thing that Ruben had always loved in Sofia, it was her voice. The woman's timbre was soft but strong, making her words flow with astounding clarity and yet never grant on his ears. Words that could hold a world of warmth and longing in them, all but physically caressing his skin and metaphorically nurturing his heart.

And so Ruvik found himself hidden in the shadows with his eyes closed as, for the first time in over a whole year, he could once again hear the powerful and yet loving voice of his Delilah. It brought him a sensation of near-ecstasy, hearing her voice again. Even if it was another man's name that she was calling.

_She'll die soon enough. Might as well enjoy what I can._

* * *

Sofia felt, in all honesty, afraid.

Not only she was filled to the brim with bad feelings ever since she understood that she had somehow been connected to STEM, but her surroundings also insisted on giving her more and more ominous signs. From the moment that monster had cornered her inside Beacon to the chilling sounds of the forest around her, the doctor knew the world was threatening her; torturing her with dreadful anticipation of what was to come.

That was why, when she tripped on a fallen tree branch and rolled down a small hill, dirtying her white coat all over, Sofia knew she had just been doomed.

Slowly and with trembling limbs, the woman stood up from the ground and found herself in front of a clear stream of water with the red moon glaring down on her. It would be beautiful, if it wasn't already overbearingly terrifying.

Just as terrifying as the feeling of a cold gust of air hitting her nape as someone breathed down on it, pushing the smell of rot into her nostrils.

Even more terrifying was the rattling sound of a chain being lifted above her head.

Sofia froze for a second before instinctively jumping forwards at the same time she turned her body around, so she could put some distance between herself and the Chain Man as well as face him. To her surprise, she found nothing there.

_Did I imagine that?_

It was a maddening sort of frustration, not knowing if what she felt and heard had actually been there for a moment or if it had just been something her stressed and terrified brain had summoned to add to her torment. Had STEM really summoned that creature behind her before making it disappear? Or was she already losing her mind to it?

Sofia swallowed a sudden bolus that had former in her throat and took in a shaky breath. If her mind, which was considered stable and healthy, was already suffering from STEM, what was happening to Leslie's? How much terror was the boy feeling right now?

_I need to find him._

"I know what you're thinking right now."

This time, Sofia didn't freeze; she turned around as soon as the words hit her eardrums. And this time, she did find someone standing a few metres away from her, right in front of the blood-tinted stream. She knew his name and desperately wanted to call it, but she choked on the word.

"You're thinking that you must save that man."

Speechless, Sofia watched as the man slowly stalked towards her, holding her still on the spot with just his burning silver eyes. Eyes that, she believed, she would never see again. Eyes that were actually dead.

"But tell me, my little Delilah, who will save _you_?"

As if stoked by the activation of an arc reflex, some of the doctor's fire returned to her, allowing the woman to return the apparition's confident stare with one of her own and the man couldn't help the brief twitch of his lips. This stare-down with Sofia… it almost felt like going home.

"I don't need saving." Sofia answered in a firm voice. "Because you're dead and can't hurt me. You're not real. Nothing here is."

The amusement inside the man's eyes died at once, allowing cold fury to replace it. However, Sofia could barely notice the change in the apparition's demeanour before he disappeared from her sight in a dark glitch. Next thing she knew, he was raising her in the air by the throat, choking her without even tightening his grip.

"I am _not_ dead." He snarled, taking purposeful strides to the stream but never moving his eyes from Sofia's. She pulled and scratched at the man's wrist, trying her best to free herself but to no avail. "I am real and I am in control here. You're mine and I can hurt you as much as I please. And I _will_ hurt you, just like you hurt me."

"I never wanted to hurt you-" The woman managed to whisper in a weak voice, feeling the last of the oxygen in her blood being consumed by her neurons.

She knew the man in front of her was nothing more than a materialisation of her own subconscious, but that didn't mean she couldn't use this chance to do something she had been wanting to do for a long time but never had the chance to: apologize.

"-And I'm so sorry that I did. I've loved you, the best way I knew how."

Suddenly, the pressure on her windpipe disappeared completely and Sofia fell to her knees on the ground, lungs burning as she took in big gulps of air. Eyes, red and teary from being choked, raised themselves to the apparition standing in front of her. The man was staring down at her with a tortured gaze and, for a moment, the woman felt the once familiar urge to wrap her arms around him and comfort him as she had done so many times before.

"Ruben…"

The lone word snapped the man back into "reality", prompting his gaze to return to its previous cool mix of fury and disgust.

" _I'm_ not dead, but _Ruben_ is. You've turned me into this abomination, so at least have the decency to call me by the name you gave me."

There was no denying the confusion in Sofia's eyes. For the life of her, she couldn't come up with a reason for her subconscious to project such a conversation between her and Ruben. It made no sense.

"…What name would that be?"

The apparition regarded Sofia with the coldest stare so far before answering in a low voice, full of resignation and yet dripping with vengeance.

"Ruvik."

The doctor felt her heart still completely at the word. Her brain seemed to be working double-pace as she tried to make sense of everything that single word implied, of all of the lies and betrayals it revealed to her.

Ruvik was not the name of a program; it was the codename for her once-lover's body; or maybe just his brain – _that's all they ever wanted from him after all_. Mobius hadn't developed a software to allow them to use STEM, they've been using the man's own living tissues as some sort of host for the machine. Ruben hadn't died in an accident; he had been trapped inside the STEM. For more than a year, he has lived in the closest thing to hell that existed on Earth.

_It can't be. It just can't be. Marcelo and Tatiana would never lie to me like that. The Director, he… he couldn't have…_

As the pieces of the puzzle fell into place, the almost catatonic woman failed to notice that once again the appariti-no, _Ruvik_ disappeared from her sight. In his place stood the Chain Man with his weapon high in the air.

All she noticed was the heavy weight of a cold chain slamming on her left cheek and making her fly into the stream of water.

Sofia didn't even have the time to feel the pain of the blow or the sensation of the ice cold water invading her clothes and cutting into her skin as dozens of daggers before losing consciousness.

But she did feel betrayal. That, and overbearing guilt.

* * *

"Are we awake?"

Mentally, Sofia cursed the bored voice seemingly coming from far, far away. Her head was pounding, spreading a debilitating pain from her left and undoubtedly crushed cheekbone to the rest of her skull.

Still, the doctor was infinitely happy that she had chosen Tatiana's figure and mannerisms when creating the Hub's keeper; her friend was keen on using low volumes when speaking, even lower than she herself did.

The doctor at last tried to answer, but as soon as her facial muscles made any attempt of contracting, an agonizing stab of pain made her abort the intended action immediately. Instead, she chose to try and open her eyes but her left one was swollen shut, limiting her field of vision. Painfully slowly, Sofia began to sit up in her bed, prompting the nurse version of Tatiana to walk to her side and lay a hand on her shoulder, encouraging her to lay back down.

"Please, relax. I'll take care of you."

Sofia was in too much pain to fight the command, so she did as she was told. Satisfied, Nurse Tatiana left her side, allowing her some time to finally observe her surroundings.

What the doctor saw was rather surprising.

When planning the prototype for the Hub, Sofia had used the image of Beacon Mental Hospital's playroom as groundwork for the infrastructure, but, at the moment, Sofia found herself nowhere near it. She was…

_Home. I'm… home. In my old room, in my parents' house._

The woman recognized the light blue walls all too well, the small crystal chandelier looming over her soft full bed, the small wardrobe, the bookshelves filled with romance novels and medical books, the large desk where she spent hours on a row studying to please her parents… She recognized everything and it made her feel a cruel sort of nostalgia clenching her heart.

Trying to ignore the miserable emotion and not daring to dwell about her recent discover regarding Ruben's "death", Sofia started to wonder why the Hub wasn't being projected as it was supposed to. Most likely she hadn't managed to create a valid command when developing the place's infrastructure, leaving it up for the owner's subconscious to create a materialization for it. Or maybe-

"Has Rube- _Ruvik_ interfered with my original project?" Sofia asked in an awkward manner, trying to move her facial muscles the least amount possible. "Is that why I'm here instead of Beacon's playroom?"

"I'm afraid I cannot answer that." Nurse Tatiana answered in a stoic voice, entering the room with a small tray in hand and laying it on her old desk.

Sofia watched in dreadful fascination as the nurse grabbed a large syringe from it and started to fill the barrel with a green and very mucous substance. That also hadn't been in the original program and the doctor didn't know if it was the result of Ruvik's malicious influence or a sort of survival mechanism derived from her own brain.

Still, when the nurse started to approach her, ready to inject that foreign substance in her veins, Sofia did her best to scoot away from the woman, moaning as the desperate movement brought pain to her wounded face.

"You mustn't fight it." Nurse Tatiana commanded, taking a hold of Sofia's right arm and keeping it still. "This is for your own good."

"What will this do to me?" Sofia demanded, pursuing her lips the best she could as the nurse managed to insert the needle into her skin.

"I'm afraid I cannot answer that." Nurse Tatiana responded, pressing down the plunger, not minding the loud groan of pain coming from Sofia as the thick substance forced its way into her veins. "But this is necessary for you."

Despite the needle being already removed from her forearm, the pounding in Sofia's head increased its pace and intensity, making the woman's groans and moans escalate until she was practically screaming in her bed. The doctor knew she was close to fainting.

Somewhere in the distance, she heard Nurse Tatiana reassure:

"Remember: you're always welcomed here."

* * *

When Sofia regained consciousness, it was at once. There was no grogginess, confusion or pain to interfere this time, and the doctor sat up in a hasty motion, almost slamming her forehead on someone else's chin. Startled by the unexpected presence hovering above her, Sofia used her legs to boost her body backwards, away from the person.

"Calm down, Doc." A familiar voice urged softly. "I'm here to help you."

Finally allowing her heartbeat to slow down, the doctor finally noticed the figure of the male detective from the ambulance in front of her. He was down on one knee, soaked to the bone, with both hands raised in front of him in an appeasing gesture as he stared reassuringly at her.

She also noticed that the left side of her face wasn't hurting anymore, that her left cheekbone was completely healed... and that her clothes were as soaked as the detective's.

"I'm sorry." Sofia apologized, pursuing her lips as her head turned from side to side, taking in their rocky and humid surroundings. "I didn't mean to react so brusquely. I'm just a bit… jittery."

"Aren't we all?" The man mused to himself as he stood up and offered his hand to Sofia. "You're one of the doctors from the ambulance, right?"

"Yes." Sofia answered as she was pulled to her feet by the detective. "I'm Sofia Prieto. And you?"

"What? No title before the name?" He asked in a half-joking, half-acid tone that made Sofia raise an eyebrow.

"I think my white coat – albeit not quite as white anymore – is more than enough clue regarding my line of work, don't you?"

"Fair enough." The detective conceded, turning his back to the woman so they could start moving. "I'm Detective Sebastian Castellanos."

"Do you have any idea where we're going?" Sofia asked, peeling her soaked white coat from her body as she followed the detective.

The doctor removed her cell phone from the coat's pocket and put it inside one of her dress pants' front pockets – only the FLASHLIGHT function was working, but the doctor was sure that alone would already be of great help in a nearby future – before dropping the coat to the ground. In this state, it would only slow down the drying of her own clothes and make her even more prone to develop hypothermia. And, even though none of this was real, she saw first-hand the consequence that dying inside the STEM had over people's bodies; she much preferred to remain only in her regular attire – red blouse, black formal pants and low-heeled shoes – than to risk that.

"I don't even know how we got here." The detective admitted in a gruff voice. "One minute we're driving through a crumbling town, the next I'm fighting off hordes of zombies and fishing women out of the water."

"Thank you for that by the way." Sofia spoke softly before the detective's words impacted her brain. Hard. "What do you mean, _hordes_ of zombies?"

_The Director didn't say anything about a large number of apparitions attacking him and Myra. He mentioned only two, maybe three monsters, and I thought that the Chain Man was one of them… Just how deep goes the corruption inside this machine?_

A scowl made its way to Sebastian's lips and he pointed to a pile of corpses laying on the steps of the stone stairway right in front of them. Corpses that had different faces and in varying degrees of decomposition and mutilation.

"Imagine those things moving and trying to kill you. That's what I mean." The detective explained, not noticing that the doctor's surprise came from the number of monsters and not their existence in itself. "You better back off a bit. I'm going to burn them and believe me when I say, the smell…"

He didn't need to say anything more. Sofia immediately took a few steps back, raised her hands to cover her nose and mouth and nodded, giving Sebastian the signal he needed to strike the match.

The corpses burned to ashes much faster than they would if this was real live, but neither found relevant to mention it. They just jumped over the remains and climbed up the rest of the stairs to a decrepit wooden gate.

Before pushing the small gate open, Sebastian pulled out his gun and checked the bullets. He couldn't hold back the unsatisfied groan at what he saw.

"Low ammo?" Sofia guessed.

"Low everything." The man grumbled as he reloaded the missing bullets with some of the little extra ammo he possessed. "I won't lie to you, Doc. We're pretty much fucked-"

The doctor felt her eyes widen at the words. Not one person in her life used such coarse language so casually and she couldn't help but feel taken aback at hearing the curse leaving Sebastian's lips.

"-And I'm going to need your cooperation."

"What can I do?"

"What you _can't_ do, is make noise." He turned to give the woman a meaningful look from over his shoulder. "Understood?"

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the detective's patronizing behaviour, Sofia pursued her lips and nodded.

"Good. Let's go."

* * *

Sofia couldn't deny that having Sebastian by her side was deeply reassuring, especially once they found themselves inside a cold and dismal village. The man was a bit rough around the edges, but he was still part of the police force and as such was trained to deal with such violent situations. Also, low on ammo or not, he had a gun.

That was why, when the man suddenly spaced out after staring into a mirror inside one of the many abandoned houses in the village, the doctor felt something pretty close to despair bubble in her chest.

"Detective." The doctor called firmly, shaking his shoulders gently. "Are you feeling unwell? Detective? …Sebastian?"

A loud thump coming from above had Sofia completely frozen in less than a moment, eyes glued to the roof expectantly. She didn't dare to even breath as to not make a sound and attract the thing to her and Sebastian's location.

Her effort to keep silent paid off when something reached her ears: the increasingly familiar sound of a metal chain dragging on floor, coming from above her.

"Oh no. No no no. Sebastian!" Sofia whispered desperately as she resumed shaking the man's shoulders, not nearly as gently as before. "Please, snap out of it!"

Light footsteps started to descend the stairs in the other room and Sofia felt cold sweat mix into her still wet clothes as she debated whether to remain hidden, trying to get the detective moving again, or to leave the room and almost certainly be spotted by the Chain Man…

… _and get Sebastian out of danger._

The choice had been made for her.

Sofia took in a deep breath and reached for the doorknob with a shaking hand. She turned the metal slowly, swallowing as the door opened with that deafening cracking sound of rust coming from its old hinges.

Eyes narrowed in determination, Sofia willed her body to stop shaking and stepped outside, turning her head to the left so she could stare through the hollow doorframe that lead to the next room. The Chain Man was there, standing at the far end of a wooden dining table, and staring back at her with his mismatched eyes.

He smiled. She pursued her lips.

He threw his chain over his shoulder. She reached for an empty bottle over the nearby side table.

He took a step in her direction. She stormed out through the door in front of her.

It was fortunate that the Chain Man seemed to favour his predatory, slow gait over actual running; if not, Sofia wouldn't have managed to run inside the house in front of her, retrieve the rusty axe stuck in the doorframe in her free hand and get up the stairs by the time it took him to reach the door and slam it open.

Even so, her pace doubled as the doctor took to the right, running across a wooden aerial walkway that took her to the second floor of the house in which she had left Sebastian.

Her eyes settled on the bed and the long pieces of fabric hanging around it, and she knew exactly what to do.

* * *

From her hiding place, Sofia watched the Chain Man walk into the room through the aerial walkway. Feeling her heart beat painfully inside her chest and struggling to keep her breathing silent, the doctor observed every torturously slow step he took towards the bed with excruciating anticipation. She was so close to death.

When his feet stopped right at the bedside, Sofia reached beneath her and took hold of the end of the piece of fabric she had taken from the ceiling and laid on the floor.

The woman took a deep breath and pulled.

It was dark so the Chain Man didn't notice the gentle movement of fabric close to his feet, but he did hear the sound of a bottle falling and rolling beneath the bed in front of him.

In one movement, the apparition slammed his chain on the top of the bed with such force he broke the structure in half. The action was so animalistic and violent that he had dropped to one knee to put as much of his weight as he could behind his blow.

It was the moment Sofia had been waiting for.

Mustering all the courage she had inside of her, Sofia left her hiding place - behind a weird wooden structure she deduced people had once used to hang their damp clothes - and ran towards her tormentor. She was holding the rusty axe above her head with both of her hands.

Before the Chain Man could stand up or even look over his shoulder, the woman had thrusted the weapon in his back, between his shoulder blades. The creature cried out and fell forwards on the pieces of the destroyed bedframe, completely limp, at the same time Sofia dropped to her hands and knees behind him.

Sweat covering all of her body and scared tears falling from her eyes, Sofia tried to catch her breath. Her heartbeat was frantic and her breathing completely ragged, her muscles were convulsing non-stop, and for a moment she feared she'd pee herself at the sheer relief that it was to have her plan work out so well.

That relief died at the first sign of life coming from the fallen creature in front of her.

Eyes wide and mouth agape, Sofia watched in frozen terror as the Chain Man slowly rose back to his feet, not even bothering to let go of the weapon or the rose in his hands to reach behind himself and pull the axe out of his back.

Only when he looked over his shoulder with a cutting stare did the doctor snap out of her stupor and scramble back to her feet with every intention of running to the opposite direction of the Chain Man as soon as her body had enough balance to do so.

But Sofia didn't manage to put two steps of distance between herself and her tormentor before falling hard on the wooden floor. Only then did she notice the cool metal of the creature's chain encircling one of her ankles, and pulling her back to him.

Sofia pawed and scratched the wooden boards beneath her, trying desperately to get away from her captor. However, before she knew it, one thin and yet heavy foot fell on her back, pushing the air out of her lungs and keeping her in place as the monster roughly pulled the chain off his victim's ankle and raised it above his head.

Tears fell freely from the woman's eyes as she shut them tightly and covered the back of her head with her hands and forearms in a pathetic last attempt of defending herself, and waited for the whizzing sound of the chain cutting through air as it descended towards her skull.

Instead, gunshots graced her ears. Six of them.

Startled, Sofia raised her face from the floor and opened her teary eyes wide to see if what she thought she heard could have truly happened. Sure enough, she found Detective Castellanos standing a few metres in front of her, reloading his gun quickly as he stole glances at her and the Chain Man.

"Doc! Get over here!"

Automatically, the woman's body responded to the command and pushed itself off the floor, also pushing the already stunned creature back and making him fall to the ground once again. At least that was what the doctor deduced from the sounds she heard coming from behind her, seeing as she did not dare to waste even one second to look back at the Chain Man until she was standing behind the detective.

"You alright, Doc?" Sebastian asked worriedly, gun once again raised in front of him and pointing at the slowly recovering monster.

Sofia opened her mouth to answer but stopped herself as she found the Chain Man back on his feet. Trembling once again, her hands took hold of the back of Sebastian's vest and tugged on it.

"We need to flee." Sofia whispered as those mismatched eyes, overflowing with hate and bloodlust, settled on Sebastian. "This… _monster_ won't die."

Not moving his gaze from the Chain Man, Sebastian nodded his agreement and slowly started to back away from the creature, in the direction of the staircase.

"As soon as we get to the stairs, run." The detective ordered and Sofia quickly nodded.

Fortunately for them, there was no need to do so.

After long, nerve-wrecking seconds of staring, the Chain Man turned his back on them and walked away, back through the door that lead to the aerial walkway.

Both remained still and silent, paying attention to any sign that the monster would return. However, after minutes of what would be the most absolute silence if not for their loud breaths and heartbeats, Sofia and Sebastian allowed themselves to let out a relieved sigh.

"You alright, Doc?" Sebastian repeated the question as he put the gun back in his holster and turned to face the woman.

"Yes." Sofia reassured softly, even though her body was still trembling. "Thank you for saving me. Again."

"It's alright." The detective dismissed before returning his stare to the door the monster had just walked through. "Where did that thing come from anyway?"

"You were really out of it, huh?" The doctor mused, prompting Sebastian to give her a confused stare. "In that bathroom downstairs, when you stared at the mirror, you zoned out all of a sudden. I tried to call you, but you didn't respond at all. What happened?"

"That's… complicated. I don't understand myself." Sebastian admitted, combing a hand through his hair. "So it showed up while I was "out of it"?"

Despite her desire to press for more information about what had happened with the dtetective, Sofia decided to limit herself to answering the question.

"Yes. Almost as soon as you lost touch with reality I heard his footsteps coming from the second floor. Then I stormed out of the bathroom and started to run away from him. I even managed to get an axe in h-"

"Wait a second." The detective interrupted, glaring at the doctor. "You knew that thing was out there and still left the bathroom?"

"Well, the probability of us being found was pretty high." The doctor explained. "And you were completely out of it. I may have managed to escape if I noticed he was about to get in, but you would be completely defenceless and I couldn't let him find you like that. Also, my chances of getting away were higher if I left before he got too close to the bathroom. Getting out was the safest choice for both of us."

Sebastian's expression softened somewhat as he nodded his acceptance of the doctor's explanation. "Good thinking, Doc. Glad to know you have my back."

Sofia smiled reassuringly at him.

"Now, come on. We better keep moving befo-"

"Sofia?"

The low voice was accompanied by the creaking sound of a wooden door being opened and immediately Sebastian raised his gun in front of him, pointing at the door the Chain Man had used to leave.

"No! Don't shoot!" The figure, another doctor – a man this time – whispered harshly, raising his hands in front of him in a surrender gesture. "I'm not one of _them_. I'm a doctor; Marcelo Jimenez."

"Jimenez." Sofia hissed darkly as her most recent discovery about the STEM took control of her brain, prompting her to take purposeful strides towards the man. "How could you do that to him?"

And then she slapped him across the cheek.

Sebastian had been extremely surprised by the development, but he quickly ran to the scene, until he was right behind the woman, holding her arms down. "The fuck are you doing, Doc?"

Sofia didn't bother to answer the question and kept her glaring eyes fixed on Jimenez's wide ones. The man's blue orbs were full of surprise but not confusion; the senior doctor understood exactly why he had been hit. What he didn't understand was how Sofia had found out about Ruben's death and Ruvik's birth.

"Sofia, I'm-"

"Save it." The woman commanded, freeing herself from the detective's hold. "We don't have time to wash our dirty laundry right now. Let's just keep going."

"I- Yes… I understand." Jimenez acquiesced, still nursing his sore cheek. "Tell me, are you alright? It was dark and I was a bit far but I'm certain I saw you running through the walkway. And then a strange man appeared, walking in the same direction. Did he hurt you?"

"I managed to get away from him, thanks to Detective Castellanos." Sofia spoke in a cold voice, gesturing to the man standing by her side.

"You were in the ambulance before it crashed, right?" Sebastian asked the newcomer. His instincts told him he'd do better to let the matter of the slap go and ask Sofia about it once they were alone.

"Yes. We're lucky to be alive."

"Have you seen anyone else?"

Jimenez glanced at Sofia briefly before answering. "Sofia's patient, Leslie."

"Leslie?" Sofia let out, barely managing to contain the anxiousness in her voice. "Is he alright?"

"I saw him running up ahead as I crossed the walkway. It was only for a brief moment and, as I said before, it was dark to see well but he seemed to be fine. Considering the circumstances, that is."

Sofia's eyes doubled their size and regained some hope and fire at hearing that.

"We need to find him, Jimenez. We can't leave him alone in this place." The doctor announced firmly before settling her gaze to Sebastian. "Would you help us?"

The detective gave a firm nod.

"That's wonderful." Jimenez spoke truthfully, but his voice was filled with dread. "However… Come this way. Quietly, mind you."

Sofia followed Jimenez eagerly, momentarily forgetting about his betrayal to Ruben and herself. She knew that, despite the horrors that were surely lying ahead, there was something more than simple survival to spurn her on and motivate her to continue fighting. There was also the hope of having Leslie back.

And she'd would cling to that hope with everything she had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter was worth the wait and that I managed to keep everyone IC. =.=  
> Please let me know what you think. :)
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid


	23. Chapter 23: Betrayal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone, I'm so sorry for taking so long to update this! But it really couldn't be helped. I'm being drowned in exams this semestre, with very, very little time left for my writing, and I need to divide this time between this fic and my HxH one. And, unfortunately, I don't see this changing anytime soon. :(
> 
> I'll do my best to try and update faster, but I can't make any promises. But I can promise that I still am working on this whenever I have time and have no intentions whatsoever of entering a hiatus. ;)
> 
> And thank you everyone who commented on this! It really helped me to keep writing even when all I wanted to do was pass out on the couch. XDXD
> 
> Hope you all enjoy the chapter!
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid

The plan was simple but terrifying.

Sofia and Jimenez were to draw the Haunted's attention, separating them from one another so Sebastian could more easily find a way to open the gates at the end of the village as well as take the creatures down, prfferably one by one.

It had started all right. Jimenez and Sofia moved first, calling out for the Haunted to come after them before sprinting in opposite directions, better dismantling their group. The first ran to a house to his right, while Sofia ran to the barn at her left.

With those monsters hot on her heels, the doctor wasted no time climbing up the stairs that led her to the barn's second floor and slamming the door behind her closed, as well as using a small, rusty door hook to hold it shut. Of course, the doctor didn't believe that old thing would manage to hold the door against the Haunted's weight as they slammed their rotten bodies on the wooden surface; she only hoped it would give her enough time to hide.

Quickly, as the Haunted started to slam on the door to force it open, Sofia's eyes scanned her surroundings, searching for a place – _any_ place – to hide. She only found a very long ladder, leading to what seemed to be a small tower.

Without a second thought the woman ran towards the ladder, but as soon as one of her hands settled on it an animalistic groan reached her ears, followed by the chilling sound of chains rattling. Instinctively, she crouched down and shielded her head with her arms, believing the Chain Man had appeared once again. It took her a whole second - one that she really couldn't afford to waste - to realize that the noises were coming from another creature entirely, one that seemed to be struggling against something.

_No doubt I'm getting out of here with a very bad form of alysidophobia._

Before she could search the source of the unsettling noises, one of the Haunted that were after her managed to breach the locked door, successfully startling Sofia out of her stupor and prompting her to finally start climbing that ladder. As she moved up, Sofia heard the Haunted march through the broken door and make their way to her, and cursed herself for choosing to hide in the tower. She had cornered herself.

But it wasn't in the doctor's personality to give up; as soon as she reached the top of the narrow tower she started looking for a way to keep the Haunted from reaching her.

_I really should've pulled the axe back from the Chain Man's back and kept it with me._

There was no actual weapon in the tower, but Sofia did find a small box of matches lying on an old desk and, remembering how easily those corpses had torched when Sebastian dropped a lit match on them, she reached for it. Immediately, Sofia readied a match and waited for the first of the Haunted that were climbing up the later to reach her. As soon as it did, she lit the match in her hands and dropped on its face.

It was with immense relief and morbid fascination that the doctor watched the thing burst into flames and release a wail of pain as it let go of the ladder to plummet down to the floor, taking the remaining Haunted with it.

Releasing a breath she hadn't noticed she was holding, Sofia took a step back and laid her weight on the edge of the desk behind her.

_So these creatures are weak against fire._

A mental image of Ruben's heavily scared body made the woman pursue her lips and lower her eyes shamefully.

… _It makes a lot of sense._

Sofia felt tears fill her eyes for what must've been the 100th time since entering the STEM and found herself hiding her face in her hands.

_Ruben, will you ever stop suffering?_

Cold arms encircled her chest and midsection and for a second the woman believed it to be nothing more than her mind conjuring physical manifestations of her grief. Only when she was roughly pulled from behind she realized she wasn't alone in that tower anymore.

"Crying doesn't suit you."

The familiar rough voice had Sofia immediately holding back her tears as she lowered her hands from her face and looked down at the scarred arms holding her, pulling her back flush against Ruvik's chest. She could see his legs dangling at the edge of the table, at each side of her thighs, and felt the once-familiar urge to lay her hands on them, on _him_.

As if hearing her thoughts and feeling her emotions, the man behind her tightened his grip around her body and buried his nose in her hair, breathing in deeply, almost as if he was trying to pull her inside him.

It instantaneously made alarm bells ring inside the doctor's head.

"I won't let you or your world consume me." Sofia announced, clenching her jaw when the man's hold on her body grew painfully tight. "Don't act like this is unexpected news. I don't give up and you know that, Ruben."

The world spun for a moment and next thing Sofia knew, knife-sharp eyes were glaring down menacingly at her as cold fingers held tightly on her jaw, keeping her face so close to Ruvik's that she could actually feel his lips brushing against hers when he spoke.

" _Ruvik_. My name is _Ruvik_."

Sofia opened her mouth, ready to protest, when his thin lips slammed over hers violently, pushing her words back down her throat.

The woman wanted nothing more than to reciprocate the kiss, to receive Ruvik's angry need and return it with her own pained one. But she couldn't allow herself to give into these irrational feelings. She had to find Leslie and ensure that both of them survived the STEM and, for that, she couldn't afford to complicate even more the already tumultuous amalgam of emotions storming inside her.

It was with pain in her heart that Sofia kept her lips sealed, physically denying Ruben the access he so demanded into her mouth. But this denial was more than a simple refuse of a kiss and both knew it; it was her denying Ruvik altogether.

And it made him livid.

"You treacherous harlot." Ruvik snarled, digging his fingers on the woman's cheeks. "How dare you deny me this? After everything you did to me, how _dare_ you deny me this last moment of pleasure. You have no right."

"I am my own person." Sofia answered firmly, trying to ignore the pain on her face. "I have every right."

The anger in Ruvik's eyes was so intense and murderous that Sofia feared he'd snap her neck then and there. But, to her utmost surprise and confusion, that hateful expression was soon replace by a smile. A mocking and sadistic smile.

"That's where you're wrong, Sofia. You're _mine_ , to do with as I please."

And, with that cruel smile on his lips, Ruvik pushed her.

Time seemed to still as Sofia fell down the tower and her senses narrowed until she focused solely on the figure looming above. She didn't even notice Sebastian's desperate "Doc!" coming somewhere below her; all she could focus in were Ruvik's satisfied smile and regret-filled eyes.

Her own orbs were filled with the same emotion and she honestly didn't know if what she regretted most was abandoning Ruben, or if it was ever meeting him.

Then, acceptance and sadness replaced the regret in her eyes for a split of a second; before they slid shut as she waited for her body to finally hit the ground.

And because of that, she didn't notice Ruvik's body disappear in a dark glitch just before she made contact with the wooden platform behind her. Nor did she notice the sudden shift in the world around her.

What she did notice was that she wasn't falling down anymore. Instead, she found herself rolling on the familiar and well-polished tiles of Mobius R&D department.

* * *

 

Ruvik didn't understand why he hadn't killed her yet.

That woman had betrayed him in the worst way possible. What she had done was much worse than to steal some meagre research documents or use him for his brains, literally.

She had made him fall in love with her only to replace him for another man. She deserved to die.

And yet, just when she was about to meet her demise, he had saved her. Ruvik hadn't even realized that he had done it until he found himself hidden in the shadows of Mobius' corridors, watching his Delilah roughly roll on the floor. He couldn't deny the relief that filled him when she immediately stood up on her trembling legs and, after some moments to fully grasp her surroundings, immediately started moving forwards. He hadn't broken her nor hurt her too badly; his woman was still as strong as ever.

_But she should be dead._

Ruvik could pretend that the only reason he had saved her was because he wanted to torture her more, to make her suffer as much as he did. But it would be a pathetic lie.

The moment Sofia's eyes filled with the heart-wrenching resignation at understanding she'd die by his hands, the remainder of Ruben Victoriano found its way to the surface, taking complete control in his hands and using it to save the woman that he hated as well as loved in equal intensity.

Instinctively, Ruvik took a step in Sofia's direction, not knowing if he meant to kill or kiss her.

However, before he could decide or even take the second step, something pulled at his consciousness.

It seemed the detective had managed to defeat the Sadist, releasing a large quantity of corruption into his world, and that demanded his immediate attention; he couldn't allow such amount of corruption to roam free like that, unless he wished it to consume someone else. And as much fun as it would be to watch "Seb" being consumed by it, Ruvik wanted to play more with the detective. The man not only had a surprisingly sturdy mind but he had also experienced pain and loss similar to Ruben himself.

Ruvik had encountered his wife in the past - when she came into his world alongside that _filthy_ administrator - and so far had had the chance to briefly dig into the memories of the detective himself. From what he managed to gather, his daughter had been killed in a fire caused by Mobius and now his wife was working for the institution. While her reasons were unknown to him, Ruvik understood the betrayal all too well.

Sofia was doing the same, serving the Director in more ways than he liked to imagine, even though she knew what he had done to him.

_She might've even helped._

Ruvik wasn't certain. Truth was, as curious as he was about the extent of the woman's betrayal and the level of her participation in his "accident", he couldn't bring himself to actually explore the woman's memories and find out. He didn't know what kind of images, tastes and smells would assault his mind-

_Sofia's naked form beneath the Director, moaning and bucking and clawing in that rough and animalistic ecstasy Ruben had never been able to provide her. The Director kissing her lips, jaw and neck as_ _**his** _ _little harlot breathed out words of love and adoration._

-and he couldn't afford to be shaken by emotions this far in the game. He had to keep himself in control.

With that in mind, Ruvik stole one last glance at Sofia and teleported back to the village.

* * *

 

Sofia had always enjoyed Mobius' facilities; perpetually clean, well lit and with an astoundingly welcoming atmosphere.

But now the place was cold and dark. So dark that, if not for the FLASHLIGHT function in her cell phone the doctor didn't think she'd manage to walk the corridors anywhere near an acceptable pace.

Not for the first time the doctor pursued her lips as she marched through the corridors, attentively making her way to the STEM laboratories. That place was meaningful for everyone – her, Leslie, Ruvik, Jimenez, the Director – and, as such, her best bet at finding something that would help her move forwards. Wherever _forward_ was.

_Hopefully, wherever Leslie is._

The regular Haunted, Sofia found, were actually easy to side step when in low numbers. In the dark corridors full of turns and ground level airway vents in which she fit easily, the doctor had no problems avoiding the eventual Haunted that happened to cross her way. Also, unlike the Chain Man who seemed to have a sort of sixth sense regarding her whereabouts, these creatures were only wandering the corridors aimlessly and showed little no inclination of actively pursuing her.

Despite these facilitators, Sofia didn't manage to reach the STEM laboratories as quickly as she had hoped. As she walked by the entrance to the Director's office, four grey shadows rushed in the room carrying an unconscious man, successfully distracting her from her objective.

It took a second for Sofia to figure out who the unconscious man was and even less for her to run after the shadows.

She came in just in time to see one of the unknown men roughly throw Ruben's unconscious body on the red leather couch before taking a stance behind the piece of furniture. Another of the men approached Ruben, putting something close to his nose – smelling salts, she guessed – before also stepping back and taking his place by the other looming shadow. The two others took their places a couple of metres in front of Ruben's now awakening form and, from the space in-between them, came the Director.

" _Good evening, Ruben. Or should I say good morning? It is, after all, past midnight."_

It took Ruvik a while to recover complete control over his mind and body so he could respond to the Director's words. But when he did, it was by spitting on the tall man's shoes.

Sofia knew the scene unfolding before her wasn't actually happening, but she couldn't keep herself from leaping forwards until she was standing right in front of Ruben, staring up at the Director with pleading eyes.

"Director, plea-"

The word stuck on the woman's throat and gooseflesh rose all over her skin as the tall shadow that possessed the Director's face walked in Ruben's direction, right _through_ her body. A chill ran down her spine and she immediately turned around, only to find one of the Director's large hand holding tightly on Ruben's jaw, pulling it up.

" _Tsk. Tsk. Such uncouth behaviour, Ruben. And here I thinking we would be able to have a nice, respectful conversation."_ The Director all but purred in Ruben's face before straightening up again. And backhanding the man with such force that Sofia actually flinched at the imaging and sound that assaulted her senses. _"Unfortunately for you, I'm tired of dealing with a beast such as yourself."_

Then the Director pulled some sheets of paper from the inside of his suit and threw them on the floor, right in front of Ruben's feet.

Sofia watched Ruben's eyes double their size as the most intense emotions flooded them. Betrayal, anger, sadness… Full rivers of them, all merging together for one gigantic waterfall of pain.

" _And, apparently, so is Sofia."_

Eyebrows furrowed in confusion and lips pursued, Sofia moved closer to Ruben's shadow, until she could properly focus on the sheets of paper laying on the floor. Her eyes soon widened as much as Ruben's at finding that those papers were actually photographs. Of her and the Director, in that country house.

On their own, those photos were innocently enough – the most they showed was the Director's laying a hand on her knee in what, she had believed at the time, was a friendly gesture – however in Ruvik's jealous-filled brain, they made for a very graphic sex tape.

"Ruben…" Sofia whispered, kneeling on top of those pictures so Ruben's shadow had no choice but to look into her eyes, as if it wasn't already too late for her to tell him the truth. "I'd never do this to you."

" _Our dear doctor is indeed a very delightful company, Ruben. Maybe I'll even consider a long-lasting relationship with her. After all, it has been such a long time since I've had a woman to call_ _ **my own**_ _."_

At once, anger overcame all of the other emotions in Ruben's eyes and his whole body surged forwards as a vicious snarl made its way to his mouth. If not for the two men by the Director's sides holding him back, Sofia didn't know what Ruben would've tried to do.

" _YOU FILTHY ROACH! TOUCH HER AGAIN AND I'LL-"_

" _You will do nothing."_ The tall man interrupted, giving Ruben a snarl of his own. _"Know why? Because that's all that you_ _ **can**_ _do."_

" _I'll show you what I can do."_ Ruvik spat. _"You'll see-"_

" _All I'll see, Ruben, is you making one of my STEM machines work again. The one in Beacon, I think, since it is the newest model."_

A smirk made its way to Ruvik's lips, mocking and arrogant.

" _And why would I do that?"_

Another smirk, equally mocking and even more arrogant, stretched on the Director's lips.

" _Because you're mine, to do with as I please."_

All of a sudden, all of the shadows around Sofia disappeared and she was left alone, kneeled in the room with tears overflowing from her eyes.

_The Director… How could he do this to Ruben? What was the point of lying to him like that? He couldn't gain anything from antagonizing him like that. Why hurt him so much?_

Then, the tars seemed to stop flowing for a moment as a small bit of rationality stabbed her mind.

_What did the Director do to him?_

In one swift movement, the doctor was standing on her feet with narrowed eyes fixed on the office's door.

_Make Beacon's STEM work, huh?_

Sofia couldn't possibly go to Beacon Mental Hospital and find the STEM terminal the traditional way. It was safe to assume that what she had just witnessed was the STEM materializing images of her own subconscious. While she couldn't actually control it to take her wherever she wanted to be, she could at least give it a little push. Maybe, if she was standing in front of Mobius' STEM terminal, a world switch might happen and take her to Beacon's one.

The doctor pursued her lips one last time and resumed her march to the STEM laboratories.

* * *

 

As soon as Sofia stepped into STEM's autopsy room in Mobius, she felt the world pulse around her and, in a matter of seconds, found herself in Beacon.

Grey shadows invaded her sight once again. Doctors and nurses she had once called by their names were all dressed in surgical clothes, surrounding an autopsy table over which laid none other than Ruben. Naked and exposed as some sort of animal.

He was immobilised by some kind of sedative, but still conscious. And despite his state of utmost vulnerability, he still glared at anyone he could focus his eyes on.

Sofia watched with wide eyes a nurse push a cart full of surgery tools close to the surgeons, as if not understanding exactly what she was seeing, even if she knew exactly what it was. When one of the doctors reached for a scalpel, she immediately shut her eyes.

"Why close your eyes? It's nothing you haven't seen before."

Instinctively, the doctor opened her eyes once again. Ruvik was there right in front of her, staring down at her with cold and yet calm eyes. A sharp scalpel was in his right hand and he had its sharp end levelled to her left eyeball.

"What are you talking about?" The woman demanded in a weak voice. "I've never seen this before."

"You once told me that you'd never lie to me, Sofia." Ruvik spoke in his usual rough voice. "I'd advise you to keep your promise."

"I'm not lying."

The calmness left the man's expression at once and, before she knew it, Ruvik had her back pressed against his chest and was pulling violently on her hair, making her head lay on his shoulder and forcing her to stare up at the watching room above them. Through the glass, the woman saw the Directors shadow lounging on a chair, watching the developments in the autopsy room with victorious eyes.

She watched the man stand up and walk close to the wall so he could push the intercom and speak into it.

" _Smile for the cameras, Ruben. After all, Sofia made me promise her a nice recording of your vivisection."_

"That's… a lie." Sofia breathed out, eyes wide and unbelieving.

" _That-"_ Ruvik snarled, roughly turning her around so he could look into her eyes. "-is betrayal."

"Ruben, I'd-"

"IT'S RUVIK!"

The woman tensed all over at the words being screamed into her face, fearing an upcoming blow or maybe even the finishing one. To her surprise, Ruvik just stood there, holding her shoulders in a painful grip as his silver eyes glared hatefully into hers. Then much softer than before, he continued.

"You killed Ruben."

Tears fell from Sofia's eyes as she raised trembling hands to Ruvik's cheeks.

"I'd never allow anyone to hurt you." She spoke firmly, with an unnatural warmth in her voice as she dared to lay her hands on his face. "You know that."

As if burned by her touch, Ruvik pushed the woman away from him, making her fall in a sitting position on the floor. Emotions started to flicker in his silver eyes faster than lightnings could cross the skies, but one thing was constant in those orbs of his:

Doubt.

Sofia felt her chest tighten at the vision, but before she could stand up and go to the tormented man he disappeared from her sight, leaving her to stare at the grey shadows of his memories.

Lying on a table, naked and incapable of moving as the doctors around him dissected layer by layer of tissue from his body, Ruben's usually narrowed silver eyes were wide and overflowing with pain and fear. However, he was incapable of as much as calling for help.

Not bearing the vision nor the squishing sounds of gloved hands playing inside Ruben's body anymore, Sofia ran out of the autopsy room, not paying any mind to the pulsating floor and walls around her as they changed her surroundings to a darker and bloodier version of Mobius.

Her eyes were wide and overflowing with pain as well.


	24. Chapter 24: Looking Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very sorry for taking so long to update. As before, it has been difficult finding time to write and I've been a bit low on inspiration as well. I really need to find a new horror game to get me in the vibe again… Any suggestions?

He had believed her.

As stupid and naive as he knew it was, Ruvik had allowed his Delilah to penetrate his defences and plant a seed of doubt in his mind. And that seed was being nurtured by wishful thinking and emotions that, he thought, were caged deep in the recesses of his once-beating heart.

It all was made worse by the fact that he still hesitated in digging into Sofia's memories to obtain actual proof of her betrayal. He didn't need to see her plotting his demise with Mobius, nor did he wish to see her fornicating with the Director.

_But what if she didn't do any?_

Then… then all the anger and betrayal he had felt towards Sofia, as well as the lingering jealousy he had over Leslie's unrestricted access to her heart, had served for nothing more than giving birth to that disgusting miscellaneous of who he should've been and who he would become. That creature whose only reason of being was to possess and punish Sofia. The Proprietor.

_He hurt her. I_ _**let** _ _him_ _hurt her._

The notion that he could've allowed that monster to as much as touch Sofia in vain was rather unsettling for Ruvik; it made him feel as if he had lost control of his own STEM. And that was completely unacceptable.

The scarred apparition spared one last glance at the detective. The rough man was standing atop of the stairs, close by the steel gate that had saved him from his Reborn Laura; his gun was raised and pointing at him.

_As if that pathetic thing could ever save you should I decide to end your life, Seb._

And Ruvik _would_ decide to do so, but not now. He still wanted to watch the detective struggle for survival against his many Haunted and traps.

Giving Sebastian one last mocking smirk, the charred apparition disappeared from his sight.

Almost immediately, the stairs beneath the detective started to crumble.

* * *

Ruvik didn't bother to teleport himself to where Sofia was; it wasn't time for him to see her again just yet.

Instead, he went to the Director's office, wherein he finally allowed his STEM to show him Sofia's memories of that place, of what had happened between her and that disgusting serpent.

" _Sofia, thank you for coming to see me so promptly. How are you faring?"_

A scowl made its way to Ruvik's charred lips as the serpent's falsely pleasant and caring voice assaulted his eardrums. The Director's shadow wasn't sitting at his desk as usual, choosing to greet Sofia right at the door instead.

Ruvik all but snarled as he watched that man embrace his woman, pressing her form against his much too firmly and for much too long.

" _I'm doing better. Slowly but surely."_ Sofia answered, softly pushing the man away as she raised a small and thankful smile to him. _"I've stopped using medications. With doctors' – other than myself - approval, of course."_

Ruvik was surprised and at the same time elated at hearing that Sofia had gone as far as consuming anti-depressants after his death.

" _That is wonderful news, my dear."_ That disgusting cockroach purred, smiling down at the woman with a sweetly predatory smile as he pulled her by the hand to the small red sofa. _"That is part of the reason I wanted to talk with you. I hope you don't mind but I've been keeping close tabs on your health status – of course, I didn't dare to go anywhere near breaking the confidentiality you have with your psychiatrists – and I have noticed your outstanding improvement in the last months. I dare to say you have completely overcame Ruben's regrettable death."_

"My _murder_." Ruvik hissed at the face of the tall shadow, glaring at its form sitting so close to Sofia on the small sofa. "I didn't just die, you despicable vermin. You _murdered_ me."

When the current focus of his anger laid a large hand over Sofia's knee, all Ruvik wished was for the real Director to be there, standing right in front of him. He'd do much more than give him a small scar on the palm of his hand.

" _I've come to accept it, yes."_ Sofia agreed, nodding her head at nothing in particular. _"But sometimes I still can't help but wonder if-"_

" _Sofia."_ The Director interrupted, tightening softly his hold on her knee as his other hand moved to pull softly her face to his. _"You're in no way responsible for Ruben's death. His STEM terminal exploded. You remember how reckless that man could be with his experiments. Sooner or later an accident like that would happen. There was nothing you could've done to change that."_

Ruvik felt his abstract chest tighten at the confirmation that, indeed, Sofia had had absolutely nothing to do with his murder. She had been lied to, just like him.

" _But-"_ His Delilah– no, his _beloved_. how could he even _dare_ to ever doubt her – made to protest.

" _No buts. I want you to stop thinking about him."_ The Director spoke, staring intently into Sofia's wide eyes. _"I want to help you to do so."_

" _Direc-"_

Ruben audibly snarled as the man's shadows silenced his woman with a kiss. A stolen kiss that, he was sure, Sofia wouldn't have allowed to happen if not for the element of surprise.

The shadow of her only confirmed his supposition when she gently pushed at the tall man's shoulders with her hands.

" _Director, I'm sorry."_ The doctor spoke in a low voice, apologetic gaze fixed on his. _"But I'm not comfortable with this."_

" _Why not?"_ The tall man asked, pulling his face away from hers, but not moving his hand from her knee. There was no hurt or anger in his voice; and it made Ruvik see red, the fact that Sofia meant so little to him that he could dismiss her refusal just like that.

" _Because we're both thinking of Ruben."_ Sofia explained before pursuing her lips. _"I'm feeling sick to my stomach at how much of a betrayal this would be to him if he was still alive. And you're revelling in the idea of conquering something that was once so precious to him. This is not right, for either of us."_

The offender, Ruvik noticed with anger, had the audacity to smile.

" _Ruben was a very lucky man to have someone as loyal and perceptive as you to love him, my dear. But do not mistake my intentions. While I don't deny that deepening our relationship would give me a twisted sense of victory over Ruben, such a petty emotion would never be my primary reason for pursuing you."_

Ruvik didn't buy that for a second, but Sofia's shadow rose her eyebrows in surprise at hearing it.

" _You are a worthy partner to have Sofia, professionally as well an intimately. And I would like very much for us to become that."_

" _Director, I-"_

" _Don't worry. I won't pressure you in anything you're not comfortable with. However, if you ever feel that our relationship could grow into something more, I just ask you to let me know, to give me a chance of making it worth your while."_

" _You'll always be worth my while, Director."_ The woman spoke with conviction, much to Ruvik's anger. _"I may not see this relationship you see, but that doesn't mean I don't value everything you did for me in these past months. You were there for me when I needed it most, and I want to be there for you as well, if you ever need me."_

Despite the woman's blatant denial of the Director's romantic intentions, Ruvik felt jealousy surge in him like a volcanic eruption. Sofia had no business caring like that for anyone other than himself.

" _Thank you, Sofia."_ That serpent spoke with a smile so falsely loving, it made Ruvik want to vomit. _"That's all I could ask for."_

And, just as fast as it had begun, the flashback ended.

It was a lie, Ruvik was certain of it, but the fact that the Director had lied to Sofia about his romantic ideals was of no importance at the moment. The only thing that mattered was that she hadn't betrayed him after all. His woman had nothing to do with his murder. Not only that, she had remained loyal to him even after his death. As she should have.

_And I let that abomination touch her._

An angry pulse of energy left Ruvik's body, pushing the scarce furniture in the Director's office against the walls around him _._

* * *

Not knowing where else to go, Sofia started to wander aimlessly through Mobius' dark corridors, praying at every turn that she'd find Leslie, or even Detective Castellanos or Kidman. Instead, she found Haunted after Haunted standing in her path, all seeming as lost as she was. As before, she had little trouble avoiding those slow creatures thanks to the abundance of ground-level air vents close to her.

Despite her relatively easy navigation through Mobius, the doctor couldn't help the immense frustration growing inside her. Ever since her encounter with Ruvik she hadn't found anyone else in STEM.

_I wonder if, now that I'm seeing a reality different than Sebastian's, we won't be able to even see each other anymore._

The second floor's large waiting room she was wandering through right now was nothing like that village after all, and it was hard to imagine that both minds could completely connect when seeing such different surroundings.

As if to answer her questions, a warm and orange glow coming from somewhere below her invaded her peripheral vision. Instinctively, the woman ran to the direction the light was coming from, almost slamming her face on the wall of glass involving the edges of the waiting room.

She found Sebastian walking through the room below her, with his lamp raised high in front of his face.

"Detective!" Sofia tried to call through the glass, slamming her fists on it. "Up here, Detective! Detective! Sebastian!"

It was no use; the man was deaf to her calls.

But one of the Haunted wandering the corridors close to her wasn't.

The creature's growls reached Sofia before the monster itself did and the doctor wasted no time in giving up on getting the detective's attention in favour of running to one of the sofas farthest from where the sounds were coming from and hiding behind it. Pursuing her lips, Sofia raised herself just enough so she could peak from over the sofa and watched as the door standing some metres in front of her trembled rhythmically as the Haunted slammed its body on it, trying to force it open.

Sooner than she wished, the creature succeeded, revealing its yellow-phosphorescent form to her.

The doctor tensed and willed herself to stop breathing as she watched the Haunted stand still and look from side to side, as if trying to decide if the voice it had heard had been real or not. Slowly, the creature's glow started to diminish, allowing relief to start growing in Sofia. The Haunted was about to abort its search.

Just when the Haunted stopped glowing altogether and made to turn around and retreat to where it had come from, it was cruelly hit by a heavy chain. The weapon seemed to appear out of nowhere, all but materializing from the shadows behind the creature and slamming on its head with such force it completely destroyed the skull.

The small flame of relief inside Sofia was immediately smothered by cold despair as she watched the Chain Man walk forwards, until he was right in front of the open door, uncaringly standing on the pool of the Haunted's blood. The monster's form was bloodier than she remembered and, to her dismay, it also lacked the axe she had managed to thrust in his back during their last encounter.

Tears threatened to fall from the woman's eyes as she sunk back behind the couch, not daring to as much as peek at her tormentor, lest she alert him by look alone.

Despite her best efforts, the Proprietor started to stalk towards her, prompting Sofia to craw to the other end of the couch and curl tighter into herself, willing to somehow vanish from that place.

As irony would have it, instead of herself disappearing, another of her appeared a few feet in front of the Proprietor. A grey ghost kneeled on the floor, crying and begging in a pathetically desperate voice.

" _Get me away from here. Please. I-I'm begging you. You said you wanted to be my friend, so be my friend._ _T-Take me away from all of this. Don't make me come back. Not to this, not to_ _him_ _. Please. I-I can't take it anymore. I'll do whatever you want, just… P-Please… I'm begging you."_

The Chain Man had grown completely still, staring at the exact spot Sofia's ghost had occupied moments before as if completely stunned by the apparition and its words, and, for a moment, the doctor believed that her tormentor would turn around and leave her alone.

Instead, it shook its head once and resumed its march, stopping only one head-turn away from finally spotting its prey.

Sofia pursued her lips and felt her heart pound so loudly that she was certain that the Chain Man could hear as loud and clear as he would if he had a stethoscope pressed to her chest.

Just as the Proprietor initiated that fatidic head-turn, the sound of breaking glass invaded the room, along with a large and heavy stapler. It came from the lower floor, flying through the now shattered wall of glass that had been involving the waiting room.

The Proprietor's reaction was immediate and before Sofia knew it, he had ran back to the way he had come from, ready to locate and terminate whoever was trying to keep him from his prey this time.

The doctor didn't lag behind. As soon as her tormentor left the scene, she stood up from her hiding place and ran to the broken window, searching for her saviour.

She found Junior Detective Kidman hastily pushing a desk towards her.

"Doctor!" Juli called, raising her wide eyes to her. "You gotta ju-"

Sofia jumped through the broken window before the woman had the time to finish the sentence and, as soon as her feet hit the wooden table, she jumped from there as well so they both could start running from the Chain Man as soon as possible.

* * *

" _Agent status: terminated. Authorization invalid."_

Juli furrowed her eyebrows at the artificial voice.

"Let me try it." Sofia offered calmly, already laying her hand on the mechanical panel by the door. As the machine scanned her palm, she spared a side glance at the woman by her side. "I didn't know you worked for Mobius as well… And, forgive me if what I'm about to say sounds rude to you, but I find it hard to believe your presence here is just a coincidence. So tell me Kidman: what is your mission?"

Juli tensed at those words; there was no denying the suspicion in them and, despite the fact that Sofia also worked for the Director, the agent knew she had to be cautious with what she'd say to the doctor.

" _Doctor Sofia Prieto. Although not as essential as Leslie, she's still a very important asset for Mobius and your side mission inside the STEM. I want you to protect her as well. However, we haven't told her about Leslie's importance regarding STEM yet. And I intend to keep her in the dark regarding it. Do you understand, Kid?"_

"Kidman. Please answer my question."

Thankfully for the agent, before she had the chance to do so, the artificial voice echoed in the room once again.

" _Researcher status: terminated. Authorization invalid."_

"Maybe we can force the door open with the computer?" Juli more stated than asked, already marching towards the machine in question. Immediately, she started to type furiously on it, not once sparing a second glance to the doctor in front of her.

Sofia pursued her lips at the agent's blatant avoidance of her question and opened her mouth to further inquire the woman about her presence in STEM when the lights around them suddenly went out. The doctor couldn't help but startle a little at that, clenching the cell phone in her hand as her heart sped up once again.

Before she could do anything more, Sofia felt Juli's hand encircle one of her wrists and pull her hastily to behind the counter. Her flashlight, the doctor noted, had been turned off.

"We have to hide." The agent spoke in a hushed but urgent voice, pulling the woman to a crouching position by her side. " _It_ is coming."

Immediately, the doctor deactivated her cell phone's FLASHLIGHT option and pressed herself further against the wood behind her, fearing with every cell in her body that the Chain Man was coming back for her.

The violent sound of the door being forced open assaulted the women's ears and, for a second, Sofia thought her fear had been completely justified.

However, a wide beam of light penetrated the room, alongside the clicking sound of heels hitting the floor, putting an end to one woman's suspicion, at the same time it confirmed the other's.

And, as one, both of them curled tighter into themselves when the creature approached their hiding place, shedding a strong beam of light just above their heads.

Sofia felt her eyes almost double their size at what she saw.

This monster had a light cannon for a head and blood-soaked sheets covering its body but, as gruesome as these features were, they weren't what gained the doctor's attention. Surprisingly, it was the thing's legs and feet that shocked her to no end.

They were covered in thigh-high stockings and red high-heeled shoes.

* * *

" _You know Ruben, most people who order clothes and shoes on the internet do so to save money, not spend more of it."_

_Sofia's words were teasing as she stared at clothes catalogues laying atop the desk in Ruben's bedroom. It was the very first time she had dared to enter the Victoriano manor since the whole basement fiasco and she was doing whatever she could to keep the atmosphere light and not show just how tense she was feeling there._

" _Armani, Yves Saint Laurent, Brioni, Gucci... You sure have expensive taste."_

" _Their clothes are of better quality, as well as the ones that best fit my physique." Ruben explained in a dismissive voice as he walked up to the woman, embracing her from behind as he laid his chin on her shoulder. "But I haven't bought anything new in a while now. Still, they keep sending me these catalogues every month."_

_Sofia smiled to the man and moved to give him a gentle kiss on the cheek when something caught her eye. Despite his claim of not buying anything in a while, the feminine section of the Yves Saint Laurent catalogue had a marked page, making the woman reach for it, more as an automotive response than actual curiosity._

_Before she had a chance of opening said catalogue, Ruben snatched it from her hands and took some steps back._

" _Mind you own business, will you?"_

_Sofia couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the man's antics;_ _**now** _ _she was curious._

" _Ruben, could it be that you have a secret life as a transvestite?"_

_The glare she received was as amusing as it was menacing. "Would you like to return to your apartment by foot?"_

_A warm smile stretched on the woman's lips and she walked towards her lover, until she was standing right in front of him._

" _Let me see it." Sofia coaxed as she laid her hands gently atop of his. "I'm curious to what you_ _ **think**_ _you need to hide from me."_

_Ruben glared at Sofia a little longer still before releasing a resigned sigh and handing her the catalogue. The woman kissed him thankfully on the lips before opening it on the marked page, only to reveal a pair of feminine legs, opened in a V-shape and covered by thigh-high stockings and red shoes._

" _I wasn't ogling the picture like some pervert." Ruben defended, turning his embarrassed face from Sofia. "I was wondering if you'd like me to buy you those. I think you would look even more… fetching in stockings."_

_Next time they met, Sofia made sure she was wearing that exact pair of stockings and shoes._

* * *

Sofia felt tears prickle her eyes as one thought invaded her mind:

_Is this what I've become to him now? Just another haunted memory of his living days?_

Before she could debate the matter, she was pulled back to her current situation by the longingly cruel call of a name that came from none other than the feminine monster.

" **Leslie** _."_

And just like that, her suspicion had been confirmed. Many times in his life Ruben had accused her of being obsessed over Leslie, so it was only fitting that her representation inside STEM would have a mind-set of searching for the boy. Whatever she had meant to Ruben before didn't matter anymore; Ruvik had turned her into a monster.

Sofia shut her eyes tightly, not bearing to stare at Spotlight any longer - to see herself in that creature - and wished that the thing would leave them alone quickly.

For once, STEM answered her prayers and the creature turned her back on them, marching towards a wall and using its light to open a door on it.

"It's gone." Juli breathed out as she stood up, turning her flashlight to the wall with Mobius logo. "Let's go."

Without a word, Sofia stood up in a mechanic movement. Her eyes were dull and lifeless, something that unsettled Juli immensely. In a place such as this, drive was all they had to spurn them on to keep living. She couldn't allow the doctor to lose hers.

Knowing she was about to risk raising Sofia's suspicion once again, Kidman took a deep breath and spoke.

"We have to find Leslie before that thing does, Sofia. I don't even want to imagine what that thing intends to do with the boy."

Immediately, the doctor's eyes recovered some of their fire and determination as they stared into Juli's relieved orbs. With pursued lips, she retrieved her phone and once again activated its FLASHLIGHT option.

_When you were alive, I did everything I could to keep him safe from you, Ruvik. I'll do it again._

Satisfied at the reaction she got, Juli returned to gaze at the logo on the wall.

"That thing used its light to open a door there. Let's do the same."

Sofia nodded her agreement and both women raised their lights to the wall and as expected, a door started to slowly materialise in front of them. As the door took shape, it demanded increasingly more of Sofia's muscles to keep her cell phone raised in front of her, making them tremble due to the effort.

Once the door had completely materialised in front of them, Sofia's arm fell to her side as if it was a piece of concrete and she couldn't help but sigh in relief at the absence of strain in her muscles.

"Are you alright?"

Sofia settled her gaze on Juli's and she smiled reassuringly.

"I'm fine; just completely out of shape. Don't worry about me. Let's go find Leslie."

Without another word, both women walked through the door, only to find another dead end. A four-walled room with nothing more than a human-size tank in it.

"That is disappointing." Sofia let out, turning around to walk back where they came from. "We better go find another way."

The taller woman didn't follow the doctor's example and stood frozen on her spot, staring at the large tank with unseeing eyes. Sofia noticed this and returned to Juli's side, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Kidman? Are you alright? Can you hear me? Juli!"

The doctor raised her hand but, before the appendage could touch Juli's shoulder, the world around her grew absolutely dark and the floor shifted beneath her feet.

Next thing she knew, she was standing in the living room of her parents' house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, hope this chapter was worth the wait. =.=
> 
> And I do remember someone posting a review insinuating that if Sofia had been trapped inside STEM she might've turned into Shade (or something like that). And I can only say: good job! Your guess was very close to what I had planned for those two. ;D
> 
> Btw, what did you all think about Sofia and Shade's correlation? Makes sense or too crazy?
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid


	25. Chapter 25: Graveyard Picnic

_"Kidman? Are you alright? Can you hear me? Juli!"_

_The doctor raised her hand but, before the appendage could touch Juli's shoulder, the world around her grew absolutely dark and the floor shifted beneath her feet._

_Next thing she knew, she was standing in the living room of her parents' house._

* * *

 

Sofia analysed every centimetre of the room. The unlit fireplace right in front of her and the wide leather couch behind, the glass doors to the veranda at her right and the wide doorway at her left, the crystal chandelier above her head and the Persian carpet beneath her feet… it was all exactly as she remembered.

If not for the baby toys strewn all over the carpet.

 _Somehow, I doubt I'd find this mess in my real home._ Sofia thought as she bent the knee to pick up a colourful stacking block. _Mother wouldn't allow it._

The woman pursed her lips as a sudden wave of sadness hit her hard in the chest; Julian, her _brother_ , was almost three years old already and still she hadn't met him.

A couple of times she had returned to Raccoon City, determined to walk up to her parents' door and knock on it, and all but demand they allow her to enter their house so they could talk and she could meet her brother.

But she never dared to leave her rented car.

Sofia just stood there, parked outside the house in which she had lived most of her life, staring longingly through the windows in the hopes she'd catch a glimpse of her family. But the curtains were always drawn and all she could see was their blue and undulating fabric mocking her for her lack of courage.

"Next time I won't bail." Sofia swore. "If I leave this place alive, I promise I'll go back and knock on that door. And I won't leave until they let me in."

"You came back."

Startled, Sofia jumped back to her feet and turned around to the direction from which Nurse Tatiana's bored voice had come from. The apparition was standing right beneath the doorway at her left, staring at her with unfeeling eyes.

"I had no choice." Sofia responded as she so she could take some steps towards the woman.

"You always have a choice."

Sofia's steps halted for a moment when those words hit her eardrums, just long enough so the doctor could regard Tatiana's figure with a curious stare before resuming her march towards her.

_I didn't program The Hub's keeper to respond so specifically to the guests' ramblings. This is good… it means the STEM is adapting itself to my mind instead of the other way around; at least to some degree._

Not stopping her steps, Sofia pursed her lips and looked down at her left palm. The skin was as flawless as ever, with no signs of an orbitoclast's image being carved into it.

_I just hope it'll be enough to keep me sane until I manage to get myself and Leslie out of here._

"Please, follow me."

Sofia followed in silence as Nurse Tatiana led her through the familiar corridors of her parents' home until they were standing in the kitchen, facing the backdoor. Sofia opened her mouth to ask why they were standing there but as soon as a whisper of a word made to leave her lips, the nurse turned around and took purposeful steps to one of the kitchen's top cabinets, reaching inside it to retrieve a small wooden case.

"This is for you." Nurse Tatiana announced, opening the case in front of the doctor, offering its contents to her. "You should find it useful."

Sofia's eyes widened when she found Ruben's scalpel staring back at her, laying gently on a very familiar scarlet silken handkerchief.

_Has Ruvik breached into my Hub?_

"I can't take this… It's not mine."

"All the contents in this house are yours." The nurse insisted, pushing the small case closer to Sofia. "This will help you. Take it."

The doctor stared at the potential weapon being offered to her with wary eyes, as if expecting it to leap of the small case and plunge itself into her throat. If Ruvik had truly breached into her Hub, that wasn't such a far-fetched possibility.

However, minutes passed and nothing happened so, after much debating, she raised trembling hands to take the scalpel and the handkerchief in her hands and gently involved the first with the later before safely storing it in her pants' front pocket.

"Good." Nurse Tatiana spoke, softly closing the case in her hands before settling it back inside the cabinet. "Now, this way please."

The Hub's keeper returned to her place in front of the kitchen's exit and pushed the door opened, revealing a dark void to Sofia, who couldn't help but take a step back at seeing it.

"You don't expect me to walk through this door, do you?"

"You can come back whenever you need to."

Sofia pursed her lips as she stared at the stoic nurse. Those words weren't exactly reassuring, since she still didn't understand the mechanism that had brought her to The Hub both times and, because of that, wasn't capable of returning "whenever she needed to".

The doctor then moved distrustful eyes to the dark void before her, as if urging it to light up into a safe path for her to follow.

Ironically, the void seemed to grow even darker as it reached out to her, growing shadowy tentacles that slowly involved the woman's body. Strangely though, the image of shadows slowly crawling all over her form and gradually obscuring her vision didn't unsettle the doctor; in her subconscious, she knew they were merely taking her to the place she was supposed to be. Those shadows were safe.

The place they'd take her, not so much.

When light reached Sofia once again, it was warm and tinted orange.

…And it allowed her to realize she was laying down inside an open casket, staring up at the dawning sky.

Frankly disturbed by her situation, the woman jumped to her feet, taking clumsy steps back from the recipient for death she had just occupied, noticing it was laying inside a broken-down house.

A house that was standing right at the entrance of a cemetery.

Sofia instinctively reached inside her pants' pockets to hold the handkerchief-enveloped scalpel in her hand for a moment, using the knowledge she wasn't completely defenceless to help her build enough courage to continue walking forwards.

 _I can't stop._ _I have to find Leslie._

With that in mind, Sofia started to march forwards into the cemetery and immediately, she pursed her lips in disgust at finding she'd have to go through what seemed to be a swamp, filled with gravestones and bodies that, she hoped, wouldn't start moving as soon as she set foot on the watery ground.

Just in case the Haunted moved though, she discarded her low-heeled shoes so they wouldn't get stuck in something she couldn't see beneath the murky water and keep her from outrunning them.

That proved to be a very good decision for, while not one of the bodies raised from the flooded ground while she walked across it, as soon as she got close to the iron gates on the other side, the ground sunk beneath her feet. If she had been wearing her shoes, she'd have most likely fallen down, instead of just wobbling a bit.

And if she had fallen, she wouldn't have been able to break into a sprint when then the splashing sound of a body jumping into the swamp-like area right behind her reached her ears.

It was followed by the tell-tale rattling of a chain being thrown over a shoulder.

Sofia didn't as much as spare a glance behind her to confirm it was the Chain Man whom had jumped in the swampy floor behind her. She didn't need to; she'd recognize that foreboding rattling anywhere.

She ran.

Not minding the painful stings of sharp stones digging into her feet, the woman ran forwards as fast as she could, desperately contouring obstacles and following without thought the way the stonewalls showed her. She knew that later, she'd suffer a lot due to the wounds her feet were receiving, but at the moment she couldn't be more thankful for being barefooted; the uneven stone floor beneath her would never provide enough security for her to run in heeled shoes without falling to the ground.

After agonizing seconds that had felt like hours, Sofia came across a strange statue that had a hole large enough to fit her in its rectangular base. Without a second thought, she dropped to her hands and knees and crawled into the hole, noticing it followed all the way to the other side, forming a passage from one end to the other.

 _Good. If he finds me, I'll manage to crawl out through the other side._ Sofia thought as she curled around herself as tightly as possible right in the middle of the passage.

Soon enough, sounds started to approach from a distance and the woman felt her blood run cold at noticing they didn't originate solely from a chain being dragged on the ground; they also included violent and pained groans and gurgles.

There were other Haunted alongside the Chain Man and they could very well frustrate her escape route.

_I need to get out of here before they spot me. Maybe if-_

Sofia was startled out of her train of thought and almost screamed at the violent sound of a body being cruelly thrown on the ground, right in front of one of her potential exits. The fright was so great that, to keep herself from screaming and alerting the other monsters of her location, the doctor slammed her hands over her mouth with enough force to hurt her face.

Eyes wide and full of dread watched the Haunted groan and sputter blood before slowly pushing its upper body from the ground. All the while, the woman trembled and pleaded in her mind that somehow the creature wouldn't notice her presence there.

Maybe, if she thought hard enough, she could influence STEM into granting her this small favour.

However, before the machine could as much as hear her plea, a thin and cold hand holding a blood red rose grabbed one of her ankles, making the flower's thorns dig painfully into her flesh as the appendage roughly pulled her out of her precious hiding place.

Sofia let out a blood-curling scream of fear and pain when her captor violently raised her body in an upside-down position the air, making her hit her head on the stone floor beneath her in the process.

The blow was more than strong enough to stun the doctor and make her senses and brain fail her.

With her now blurred vision Sofia could only see the blotches of the Chain Man's black pants, covered in white chalk and dried blood, his dirty-covered bare feet and his blood-tinted chain dangling close to her face.

Still a bit disoriented and feeling strangely detached from her own body, the doctor accompanied with her eyes the blurred movement of the chain slowly being raised from the ground, not fully comprehending what it was that her captor intended to do with it. Holding her like that would make it difficult for him to deliver a fatal blow.

The woman's thoughts halted when another blurred figure, much larger than any Haunted she had seen so far, started to approach them at an alarming speed, charging at them as an angry rhino.

More out of instinct than actual planning, Sofia pulled her chin to her chest and raised her arms to the back of her head, holding the back of her skull with her hands and using her arms as an improvised sort of helmet.

Just as the doctor had finished performing said action, the savage sound of a large body of mass hitting another reached her ears and before she knew it, her ankle had been released and she had fallen back on the cold stone ground, limp as a ragdoll. The sleeves of her blouse ended up thorn and the back of her hands were scrapped bloody by the fall as the air was pushed out of her lungs, making it impossible for the already slow-functioning woman to take any sort of action for minutes she didn't even notice passed her by.

During those minutes all she could see was the dawning sky, and all she could hear was the sound of tearing flesh and breaking bones around her.

As her brain slowly rebooted and the air returned to her lungs, Sofia's vision also re-focused, allowing her to finally stand up on trembling legs as her wide eyes took in all the potential threats around her.

Only to find none.

The Haunted who had accompanied the Chain Man to her hiding place were torn into pieces that were lying all around her, and her personal tormentor was nowhere to be seen.

_There was a large monster too… Where is it?_

As if to answer her question, a roar came from behind a stonewall a few feet in front of her and, before Sofia could react, the Chain Man's body had been launched from that place, hitting the wall opposed to it and falling to the ground as a sack of bricks.

Frozen still by the scene unfolding before her, Sofia could only watch as a giant marched away from behind that wall and stopped to stare back at her. How he seemed to know where she was standing was a mystery, because a strange sort of leather mask that belonged in a S&M pornographic movie covered both of his eyes and ears.

But still he stared at her for seemingly-endless moments. And Sofia didn't dare to move for fear it would trigger some sort of violence towards herself as well. She wouldn't be able to survive the slightest fickle of that creature's fingers.

Only when the Chain Man grunted and started to get up from his place did the giant resume his march, hands fisted and seemingly ready to dig her tormentor his very own grave in this cold cemetery.

Taking that as her chance, Sofia turned around, finding a flight of stairs and an unlocked iron gate waiting for her.

She spared one last look at the giant from over her shoulder and couldn't help but cringe at finding him pulling the Chain Man's bloodied body from the ground by the hair. She didn't pity the suffering monster or anything of the sort, but still… it was a gruesome scene.

Not bearing to stare at it any longer, Sofia turned her face away and tumbled up the stairs, towards an enormous, gothic church.

From her place sitting on one of the front pews inside the church, Sofia allowed herself to drop her guard and stare at the empty altar with unseeing eyes as the recent events replayed inside her head. Her muscles were tired, her breathing was heavy, her feet and hands were burning and her head was throbbing.

But her thoughts were occupied by something else entirely different from her pains.

_That giant… it saved me._

As a scientist, Sofia didn't believe in luck. She believed in logic, and trial and error; in repeating experiments time and time again in the search of that one variable that when changed would give her the results she so desired. That was why she doubted that the giant appearing at the exact moment the Chain Man had captured her was a coincidence. Such a perfectly timed event couldn't have happened by itself; something in the STEM must've triggered it somehow.

While she was quite hopeful that her unconscious influence over STEM could be part of the reason she was transported to The Hub every now and then, she didn't think it'd be possible for her to actually influence the monsters who inhabited this place. Those were Ruvik's, in the most absolute sense.

That could only mean that Ruvik was the one behind the giant's attack on the Chain Man. That he was, somehow, protecting her.

Automatically, Sofia reached inside her pocket to retrieve Ruvik's scalpel, letting out a relieved sigh at finding it hadn't been lost during the commotion. Tenderly – lovingly even – the woman unfolded the red handkerchief, revealing the shinning silver of the blade.

_Ruben… is there something of you left in here?_

The rough sound of rusted iron doors opening snapped Sofia back to "reality", prompting her to jump to her feet in alert, ready to flee from whatever Haunted it was that had come after her.

To her surprise and absolute joy, it was Leslie who walked through that door, followed by a very tense-looking and now armed Juli Kidman.

"Leslie! Juli!" The doctor exclaimed as she put her scalpel away and took a step towards the boy with a wide and relieved smile gracing her lips. Just seeing Leslie again made every bad thing she went through completely worth it. "I'm so happy you're-"

" **What do you want with me?!"**

Sofia's smile died and she halted her steps completely as the demand was thrown at her in a loud and almost violent voice by none other than Juli Kidman. The agent had put herself between her and Leslie and was now pointing her gun at the doctor's face.

"What is happening, Kidman?" The doctor asked in a firm voice, eyes flickering between the agent and Leslie. "Calm yourself and put down your gun. No one here will hurt you. We're just going to talk, alright?"

"Back up!" Kidman yelled, pushing Leslie behind her in a protective manner. "He's coming with me!"

Sofia pursed her lips at the positively cornered look on Juli's face. She had seen that look many times before, in the faces of her patients in Beacon, whenever they lost touch with the reality around them.

_It's not me she's seeing._

"Kidman, please." The doctor spoke in an even firmer voice, but not daring to make any sort of movements. "You need to snap out of it. It's me, Sofia. I'm not going to hurt you, much less Leslie. Please, lower your gun."

Still not recognizing Sofia or her voice, Kidman retreated slowly from her, hitting her back on Leslie's hunched form. The contact was brief and gentle, but it startled both of them into taking hasty steps in opposite directions.

"Leslie." Sofia called, not daring to move her eyes from Kidman, who was now staring at the boy as if he was some sort of mutant. "Come here."

But the boy didn't obey. His only movements were the fidgeting of his feet and hands as he murmured "Beacon… Beacon… The light…" in a loop.

"Ruvik…?" Juli spoke, just loud enough so Sofia could hear and it made the doctor's blood freeze in her veins.

For the agent was still looking at Leslie when that name left her lips.

"Leslie, please!" There was a hint of desperation in the doctor's voice now. "Come here!"

Finally, the boy turned his blue eyes in Sofia's direction and they widened in happy recognition, as if he had just spotted her there. In small and clumsy steps, his feet started to lead him in the doctor's direction as whispers of her name escaped his lips.

Sofia would've allowed herself to sigh in relief, if not for Kidman's forceful voice once again echoing all around the church.

"Stop it! Let him go!"

Frightened, Leslie stopped walking towards her and all Sofia could do was stare with attentive eyes as Kidman pointed her gun at Leslie, then back at her… then back at him again.

It was clear that only words wouldn't be able to make Juli see she was safe; the doctor would have to take physical measures if she wanted the agent to stop pointing her gun at Leslie.

However, Sofia would have to wait for just the right opportunity to take action; she was smaller than Kidman and much less prepared to deal with such situations. As such, the doctor's victory depended solely on the element of surprise. She needed an opening.

That opening came when Kidman settled on Leslie as her target and cocked her gun, ready to shoot.

Without thinking, Sofia ran towards the agent and pushed her gun up so it was pointing at the ceiling of the church. Automatically, the doctor shut her eyes in anticipation of the exploding sound of the gun going off close to her ears.

It never came.

Instead, Sofia felt the world spin around her and closed her eyes as the lights all blurred before her.

When she opened her eyes again she was no longer inside the church. She was standing in the front doors of the Victoriano mansion, and Leslie was nowhere to be found.

"No! No no no no!" The woman cried out in despair, tears blurring her vision as she frantically turned her body around, examining her surroundings with an almost predatory attention. "LESLIE!"

Once again, Leslie had been taken from her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and that Sofia's encounter with the Chain Man wasn't too confusing. =.=
> 
> And what did you think about the scene in the cathedral? :)
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid
> 
> PS: this chapter's title is the name of a song by Voltaire. I think you might like it. ;)


	26. Chapter 26: Expected Surprises

After a short moment of despair at the entrance of the Victoriano mansion, Sofia finally entered the place and soon her soft steps could be heard, echoing through the manor as they made their way to the music room very slowly, as if the woman taking them was in a trance, being drawn to the place by some sort of unseen force.

For all she knew, she was.

Sofia walked through familiar corridors without really seeing them, distracted by the pain that shot up her legs every time she laid her feet on the floor, repeatedly staining it with bloody footprints. She hoped not to come across any eventual Haunted that inhabited this mansion, and also that they weren't smart enough to follow those footsteps to her. The doctor didn't think she'd be able to survive an encounter with those creatures in her current state.

Thankfully, her prayers were answered and she managed to reach the music room without any undesired encounters with the Haunted, immediately coming face to face with the grand piano Ruben used to play for her, once upon a time.

A sad smile tugged at the corner of the doctor's lip and she sat down at the instrument, sighing in relief at finally having her weight taken off her feet. Automatically, her hands laid gently atop the instrument's keys but didn't dare to press them down. Not only the sound would most likely bring her unwanted attention, but she had also completely forgotten the little she knew about playing the piano. Despite having the real instrument in her home, Sofia never tried to actually learn it; without Ruben, it would be meaningless.

_With him, it would be meaningless as well. The man I loved never actually existed; he was a fraud, composed by lies and my own wishful thinking._

Sofia felt tears prickle her eyes and immediately raised her face to glare at the ceiling to keep them from falling. All her hopes of Ruben being the one responsible for making that giant save her disappeared inside that damned church. He had been the one manipulating Juli into seeing his face instead of hers, almost getting her shot; and he was the one who pulled Leslie away from her, _again_. Since the beginning he was doing all he could to torment her. She had to stop crying for him.

_No. It's_ _**Ruvik** _ _. Ruben died in that fire, alongside his sister. Even he recognizes he isn't that person anymore. That he isn't_ _**a** _ _person anymore._

With that in mind, the doctor pursed her lips and rotated her body on the piano bench so she was staring in the opposite direction of the instrument and ready to stand up. However, when she looked down at her feet, she hesitated.

Only now the doctor was taking a good look at them, and they were in worse shape than she had thought. There were wounds covering their soles and sides and some were still bleeding; the few that had stopped promised to resume pouring out blood as soon as they touched the surface of the floor. There was one particular gash in Sofia's right foot that made her actually wince; it was quite deep and filled with dirty and coagulated blood.

_I need to clean this up and stitch it._

Fortunately, she knew just where to go for that. Unfortunately, it was the place she least wanted to visit

_Ruvik's basement…_

Sofia shuddered at the thought of returning to that place and mechanically spared a glance at the door in front of her; it was blocked by various debris and wooden beams. Behind alll of that, she'd find a room with its floor covered by an expensive persian rug and, beneath the rug, the entrance to Ruvik's basement.

_Well, that's not even an option anyway._

Immediately her brain started working on double-pace, thinking about any other place in the mansion where she could find the supplies she needed to take care of the wounds in her feet.

_Of course. His old laboratory, from when he was a child._

Ruben had shown her the place once, during a tour he had all but forced upon her in an attempt of lessening her reluctance in walking around his home. It was just after the manor's kitchen and, despite not being used since he was a child, the doctor believed she could scavenge the necessary supplies.

The woman stared forlornly at her right foot, already dreading the painful walk she'd have to take.

_No use putting it off. The sooner I get started, the sooner I'll finish it._

* * *

Once again, the walk was slow and painful for the woman but she didn't find it in herself to as much a grumble a complaint. She hadn't encountered any Haunted and, most importantly, she hadn't encountered the Chain Man; those small mercies went a long way in providing for the woman's "good" mood.

When she reached the lab however, said mood died at finding a scalped human head standing atop a small desk, with a couple of small orbitoclasts protruding from the exposed brain.

It was difficult for Sofia to hold back the urge to vomit when she saw the head blinking and she quickly turned it around so it was facing away from her.

There was a recorder with an audiotape by the severed head and, despite knowing it promised nothing good to her, Sofia pressed the play button.

The detached voice of Ruvik narrating his inhuman experiment, combined with the gut-wrenching pleas for mercy of a woman in the background quickly made Sofia's previous effort in holding back her vomit something completely in vain. She pulled a trash can from beneath the table and hurled into it.

To increase her disgust, the contents she vomited were red as bood, and with chunks of meat that were sickeningly to pieces of a human brain.

* * *

After some minutes to catch her breath, Sofia put the bin aside and started to scavenge the place as fast as she could with her damaged feet, extremely anxious to get away from the gruesome altar close to her and her own vomit.

It took the doctor a good while to find needle and thread for her skin, let alone enough clean gauze rolls to wrap them with. Rubbing alcohol, on the other hand, was rather abundant.

The only thing she didn't find were anaesthetics and, for a brief moment, Sofia actually considered going into the kitchen to grab one of the many bottles of wine she had seen laying around in there and drinking it just so she could lessen the pain that was sure to come.

But she couldn't afford to have her judgement and motor skills impaired in any way. She had to be in constant alert to avoid any contact with the Haunted and pick up any clue that might lead her to Leslie, as well as figure out a way to get them both (and hopefully the rest of the people stranded) out of STEM. And, when – _not if_ – she did eventually confront the Haunted – _as long as it's not the Chain Man. please let him be dead_ – Sofia had to be in perfect control of her body to run away from them.

So, instead of pouring a bottle of wine down her throat, Sofia stuffed a dirty rag inside her mouth, pulled the chair away from the gory table and closer to the door so she could take a seat without feeling the urge to vomit again, and started to work.

The cleaning of her wounds alone brought great pain to the doctor, making her bite hard on the fabric in her mouth every time the alcohol touched her damaged skin. But when she started to suture the deep gash in her right foot, not even that rag filling her mouth managed to completely muffle the moans of pain coming from the woman.

The doctor's usual firm hands trembled at every stitch she made and she couldn't keep the tears of pain from overflowing her eyes. She remembered a strange woman from her brief time in the surgery residence who had the habit of stealing xylocaine gel from the hospital and always carried a tub in her pocket, just because she enjoyed putting it on her lips and making them numb. She wished she had the same strange quirk; topical xylocaine wouldn't do that much for her pain, but she'd take any help at the moment.

Covered in sweat and breathing hard, Sofia finished her stitches as fast as she could, almost sobbing in relief when it was all over.

Then she started to wrap both of her feet with gauze. It sure wasn't going to do much to protect them if she was to break in a run on a stone floor again, nor would it keep her from feeling pain in every step, but it was all she had at the moment.

" _It is so strange, bringing someone other than you in here…"_

Sofia's head shot up in alert when Ruvik's voice reached her ears, believing that he had teleported into the room with her. But, of course, it couldn't be; his voice was filled with love and longing, emotions that he'd never direct at her again.

" _I knew you'd like her, my beautiful Laura."_

Sofia watched as a grey shadow with Ruvik's face took shape right in front of her. Its head was turned to the side, smiling tenderly at nothing in particular.

_No. Not nothing in particular. He was seeing Laura in front of him, hallucinating with her. But… since when?_

The doctor pursed her lips, wondering if the whole time they had been together Ruben had been suffering from such strong hallucinations. If the scene she was watching was any indicator, the answer would be yes, he had. And she never even suspected it.

" _There is no chance of her being compatible with you. I've already considered it but, from what I have gathered so far, for such a connection to be stablished between two minds they must have experienced very similar experiences, and Sofia's life hasn't been much close to yours. So do not fret my sweet sister, there will be no need to destroy our lovely doctor's mind to return what is rightfully yours to you. A healthy body, capable of dancing and singing and laughing as only you can."_

Sofia's eyes widened as she felt a sudden pain in her chest; one that she had grown rather familiar with and knew by the name of betrayal.

_Ruben… You had actually considered the possibility of using me to provide a new vessel for your sister… of completely erasing my mind so Laura could have a new body._

After all the atrocities she had watched – _and helped. never forget that you helped, that you're just as bad_ – Ruvik commit, Sofia really shouldn't have been surprised that his intentions towards her had once been so cruel and selfish.

She really shouldn't hurt as much as she did because of it.

But she did. It was one thing for Ruvik to resent her after the Director tricked him into believing she had something to do with his confinement in STEM, but for him to as much as consider doing that to her while they were still together…

It hurt too much, and she ran away from that old laboratory and the ghostly scene still unfolding behind her, uncaring of the Haunted that might've been alerted by her loud steps echoing throughout the otherwise silent mansion.

All the while, she could only think how much of an idiot she was. In the end, Ruben hadn't been worthy of her love at all.

* * *

STEM seemed to be made to follow Murphy's Law; everything that could go wrong, would go wrong. So it was no surprise when Haunted started to sprout seemingly out of nowhere and start chasing Sofia through the manor, cornering her inside one of the bedrooms upstairs. It was the second closest to the library, connected by a door to Ruben's own bedroom; the one she had been meant to sleep in through the night in her first visit to the mansion.

Heart pounding in her chest, the doctor used all the strength her sudden adrenaline burst gave her to pull the – thankfully empty – chest of drawers down so it was blocking one of the bedroom's doors. The other door, the one that directly connected both bedrooms, she could only lock with the rusty key that still laid inside its lock.

As soon as Sofia finished turning the key, she jumped back in fright as a particular heavy Haunted started to slam its body on the door, making it tremble forebodingly in front of her. Lips pursed and cold sweat covering all of her body, the doctor scanned her surroundings quickly and attentively before setting her eyes on the large armoire close by the window. She didn't waste one more second before sprinting towards the piece of furniture so she could hide herself inside it. That door wasn't going to hold out much longer and the last thing she wished was to be in the Haunted's line of sight when they breached the room.

Both hands laid firmly over her mouth to muffle the fearful sounds that threatened to scape her lips, Sofia heard the dreaded sound of the door violently slamming on the wall, soon followed by multiple footsteps stomping inside the room. Then, she watched through the thin gap between the armoire's doors as a couple of Haunted invaded her line of sight, glowing eyes searching, hunting for any signs of her.

Moments that felt like an eternity passed before, slowly, the creatures started to lose some of their alert, as if forgetting there was someone inside the room for them to find. Someone Ruvik wanted dead.

Sofia herself only started to relax when she heard the last of their footsteps finally leave the room, soon followed by the breached door slamming close.

Cautious, the doctor stood still and silent inside the armoire for long moments still, ears attentive to any sounds that could indicate any sort of threat still in the room with her. However, nothing came and the woman couldn't help but let her hands fall from her mouth as she released a loud breath of relief, alongside a single tear of fear.

The air had barely left her lips when the armoire's doors were cruelly pulled open, revealing the Chain Man's figure staring down at her with passionate murder written in its mismatched eyes.

Sofia's breath hitched and, before she knew it, survival instinct had prompted her to duck to the side and out of the armoire, successfully squeezing herself between the creature's frame and the edge of the furniture. The woman's knees had barely scrapped the floor and she was ready to sprint out of the bedroom.

However, before she could take one step forwards, the Chain Man's left hand reached for the top of her hand, roughly grabbing a fistful of the woman's hair at the same time it pushed the rose's thorns inside her skin, mixing her blood with his.

The Haunted hauled the woman to her feet by the hair and pulled her to the foot of the bed, not wasting one second in throwing her face first atop of it. Some strands of ink black remained in his hand, wrapped around his red rose, and the Chain Man couldn't keep himself from raising them to his face and breathe in their scent deeply.

Tears now freely streaming down her face, Sofia quickly rolled herself on the mattress so she was now laying on her back and staring at her tormentor with fearful eyes that still searched for a way to run away from him.

Before she could find said way, the Chain Man's slim form had already crawled onto bed with her and was now straddling her waist. His red rose, she noted, was now safely tucked in the pocket of his unbuttoned and blood-stained white shirt, allowing him to grab the broken collar at the other end of his chain in his left hand.

As if in slow motion, the doctor watched with wide eyes the creature lead that iron collar, covered in dried blood, towards her neck.

The woman tried to push his hand away with all she had, but her strength was nothing compared to the Chain Man's. In the end, she felt the cold iron encircle her throat and press down on it, steadily closing her windpipe. She watched the creature smile lovingly at her as he continued to press the collar down on her throat, choking the life out of her. She watched her surroundings slowly disappears as shadows started to overtake her vision from the outside in, funnelling it until all she could see were those bright, mismatched eyes staring down at her with regret and satisfaction.

Then, she felt the weight of cold metal in her right pocket and determination bubbled inside her.

Strength renewed by the sudden surge of hope, the doctor scratched and punched at the Chain Man with her left hand as her right reached inside her pants' front pocket, clumsily searching for the one weapon she had with her: Ruben's scalpel.

Finally, when she felt herself on the edge of losing consciousness, her hand closed around the weapon and pulled it from her pocket. She shook her wrist once, making the silken handkerchief that involved the scalpel's blade float away, and then thrusted her hand into the Chain Man's face, plunging the blade into his left, grey eye with all she had.

It was with immense relief that she heard the monster roar in pain and pull back from her, releasing the pressure that was bearing down on her windpipe.

Then, Sofia heard the sound of a shotgun being fired somewhere. She couldn't pinpoint where exactly, for the sound was too far-away and the world was shifting rapidly around her, morphing into many different scenarios. Sofia could make out brief images of a field of sunflowers, a burning barn, a cold and humid basement and a bedroom filled with blood.

After that, her vision went absolutely black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all liked the chapter! Writing The Proprietor's scene was rather fun for me, so I really hope you all had a good time (aka: a tension-filled moment in your day XD) reading it. :D
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid


	27. Chapter 27: Of Cracks And Pieces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all who have commented this story so far! I've been struggling to write lately and without doubts your comments were the incentive I needed to get this chapter up! S2
> 
> I hope not to take so long to post next chapter, but I've been very busy with college. Also, Pokemon GO has just been released here in Brazil and my quest to become a Pokemon trainer is consuming much of my free time. XDXD
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter! :D

_Finally, when she felt herself on the edge of losing consciousness, her hand closed around the weapon and pulled it from her pocket. She shook her wrist once, making the silken handkerchief that involved the scalpel's blade float away, and then thrusted her hand into the Chain Man's face, plunging the blade into his left, grey eye with all she had._

_It was with immense relief that she heard the monster roar in pain and pull back from her, releasing the pressure that was bearing down on her windpipe._

_Then, Sofia heard the sound of a shotgun being fired somewhere. She couldn't pinpoint where exactly, for the sound was too far-away and the world was shifting rapidly around her, morphing into many different scenarios. Sofia could make out brief images of a field of sunflowers, a burning barn, a cold and humid basement and a bedroom filled with blood._

_After that, her vision went absolutely black._

* * *

Sofia woke up to the sound of someone knocking softly on wood. Once again, it was a gradual and painful process for the woman to regain consciousness, for it slowly brought back to attention the severe pain that all of her current injuries provided. This time, the worst one was the deep and ugly purple bruise on her neck that came from the bloodied and broken metal collar the Chain Man had pressed down on her throat.

Immediately, Sofia shot up in a sitting position, moving her eyes from side to side in alert as the memories of the last happening rushed back to her. Strangely, she didn't feel the terror or any sort of overwhelming emotion at having escaped such a close encounter with death as she knew she should. She only felt the adrenalin rush inside of her, focusing all of her senses and muscles on surviving.

After taking in her surroundings, the doctor allowed herself to relax; she had been transported back to her Hub – more specifically, to her old bedroom in her parents' house – and in that place she instinctively knew she was safe.

Once more, the knocking sound reached the woman's ears and only then she realized it was someone knocking on her bedroom door. The woman tried to call out and tell the person to come in, but due to her wound she couldn't emit anything more than a crooked groaning. That was really no surprise; with the damage her windpipe had received from that choking, it was a miracle she could breathe at all.

The doctor slowly made her way to open the door, wincing each time as her wounded feet touched the carpeted floor. When she finally made it to the door, she immediately pulled it open to reveal none other than Nurse Tatiana, carrying a silver tray in her hands over which laid an uncomfortably familiar syringe filled with green gel.

"Good. You're awake." The nurse spoke in a monotonous voice as she marched into the room. "It's time that you used your Green Gel."

Sofia remembered the agony that was having that mucous substance running through her veins and instinctively took a step back from the woman. In that motion, her foot hit something and the doctor had to firmly plant it on the floor to avoid falling down, releasing a loud and pained sob as the pain coming from her wounded foot shot up and down her leg.

"See?" Nurse Tatiana demanded as she put the tray on the foot of the bed and retrieved the syringe. "Please, take a seat."

It was then that Sofia remembered how damaged her face had been when she first took that shot and how perfectly healed it was afterwards.

Hesitantly the woman nodded her acquiescence to the nurse but, before she could walk back to her bed, she noticed that the thing she had stumbled upon were an old pair of shoes. Sneakers, actually. The white ones made of leather she used to wear in surgeries during her short time as an intern in cardiothoracic surgery.

"Take it." Nurse Tatiana suggested. "Remember: all the contents in this house are yours. You can use them whenever you need."

Sofia didn't need any more encouragement and immediately bend down to grab the pair of sneakers from the floor and walk to her bed so she could sit down and put them on her wounded feet painstakingly slowly. As soon as she was done, Nurse Tatiana pulled one of the doctor's arms to her, exposing her median cubital vein.

The woman didn't have time to take in a deep breath before the thick needle broke into her vein, allowing the Green Gel to invade her bloodstream and once again plunge her into a sea of agony.

"There, there. You're alright now."

Sofia could only answer with a scream.

* * *

Sebastian wasn't sure how long he had been sitting there at the foot of the full bed with his shotgun in hand as his eyes jumped from the unlocked door in front of him to the shattered window at his right, through which that strange and pale monster had jumped.

_He sure has the Doc on his shit list._

It was the second time Sebastian had found that particular creature trying to kill Sofia and every single one of his detective instincts were telling him it was no coincidence. Just like that six-legged monster seemed to have a penchant for his blood, that pale man seemed to be completely focused on staining his chain with the doctor's.

It was a good thing indeed that the Chain Man seemed to be keen on avoiding any sort of physical confrontation involving anyone other than the doctor and had fled through that window as soon as he had put two shells of his shotgun between his shoulder blades.

_Is he afraid because I'm armed? Could it be that, like most of the other things around here, he's actually weaker than I am?_

If that was the case, the Chain Man was much more dangerous than the other monsters. If the creature understood when it was overpowered and chose to flee to fight another day, then Sebastian had better watch his back against him. Smart foes were much more dangerous than those who solely depended on brute strength.

 _The Doc is smart._ The Detective reminded himself, moving his head to spare a distrustful look from over his shoulder at the unconscious woman laying on the bed. _Is she a foe as well?_

* * *

" _ **How dare you come into my home, and threaten me?"**_

_Sebastian watched the scene with hard eyes, inserting the small piece he had just received in the form of this strange sort of flashback into the large puzzle that was his current situation. Every time he watched these ghostly scenes unfold before his eyes, the Detective understood a bit more of where he was, how he had gotten there and who was responsible for it._

_**Ruvik. That little boy in his make-do lab, looking scared as a mouse as he talked with Jimenez. And also that fucking monster who's trying to kill me.** _

_Ruvik was already known by the detective, but the later still didn't fully understand how exactly he was responsible for all of the unnatural things happening all around him. There were still missing pieces in his puzzle._

_**But I'll find them. And I'll find a way to make you pay for everything, Ruvik.** _

_As if to respond to his thoughts, the debris blocking the door close to him creaked and groaned as it collapsed on itself, making way for the detective to reach forward and easily turn the doorknob that belong to the door behind the piano he had just been staring at._

_His gut instinct was tingling, urging him to do so, to unravel yet another piece of this puzzle._

_And so Sebastian opened the door and jumped over the remaining debris to find himself in a pitch black room, where his only source of light was the oil lamp hanging from his belt._

_Gun raised and ready to shoot, Sebastian slowly walked into the room, examining each of its dusty corners with sharp eyes. Only when he was completely certain no Haunted would jump out of the shadows and get the best of him did Sebastian allow his eyes to settle on the wooden floor. There was a trapdoor partially showing, thanks to the lack of fabric in the ripped remains of what was once a fine and thick carpet._

_The detective put his gun away and, with a grunt of effort, pulled the trapdoor open, revealing a steep and circular flight of stairs, which he wasted no time climbing down._

_After the detective set foot on the floor of the narrow corridor that stood at the end of the stairs, bright lights suddenly turned on, momentarily blinding him and making him take a step back out of reflex._

_That motion was the only thing that saved him from being pierced by a laser beam and, while Sebastian didn't see the beam in itself, he heard clearly the cracking of energy in front of him._

_Immediately in alert, the detective watched a pain sheet of red laser take shape in front of him, at the height of his waist and jumped back some three steps up the stairs. Then, the sheet was replaced by a grate at the far end of the corridor that was rapidly coming in his direction. Standing on the steps of the stairs and out of danger, he watched the trap perform its route with attentive eyes and soon spotted four small metal boxes at each corner of the corridor's walls, from which the lethal beams were born. He watched those small boxes dance on the walls, floor and ceiling of the corridor, repeating their performance from the beginning._

_Then, he shot each and every one of them with deadly precision before moving forwards into the corridor._

_Sebastian tried to open every door he came across, but only the largest one, standing tall and proud at the end of the corridor opened for him, revealing an enormous room, wherein was a strange machine, connected to several bathtubs. It was the same machine he had found Jimenez meddling with once._

_**STEM.** _

_Suddenly, the machine started working, emitting a screeching noise that was easily put in second plan by the blood curling screams coming from the shadows that had materialized inside the tubs, connected to the machine._

" _What the-?"_

" _ **Stop holding back. This time we're deepening their connection even more."**_

_Immediately, Sebastian turned around to fix his gaze on the scarred figure who owned that unmistakable rough voice. Sure enough, Ruvik was standing close to the edge of the room, towering over a smaller, feminine frame that was sitting at the computer, presumably controlling the machine. Unexpectedly, Ruvik was not wearing his tattereed hood, instead adorning the same bandages and formal clothing he had wore in the piano room; the ones that made Ruvik seem more human than he could ever hope to be._

" _ **Their vitals are already over the top, Ruben-"**_

_Sebastian's eyes widened when he heard that voice. That soft and yet firm timbre was just as unmistakable as Ruvik's rough one and could belong to none other than the female doctor from before: Sofia Prieto._

" _ **-We can't deepen their link even more in this state. Their brains will suffer irreparable damage if we do so. Their consciousness will break."**_

_The bandaged man smiled cruelly even as he tenderly combed his fingers through the woman's hair._

" _ **Do I look like I care, my dear?"**_

_With his free hand, Ruvik reached for the touch screen of the computer, using his index finger to adjust the settings of the machine to his preferences. Sofia raised her hands to pull his own away from the screen but a rough pull on her hair and a hiss in her ear made her halt the movement mid-way._

" _ **Change this settings and Leslie will be the next one screaming and trashing inside one of those tubs. Do you hear me?"**_

_Sebastian watched the woman narrow her eyes and purse her lips as she nodded in acquiescence._

" _ **Good."**_ _Ruvik purred, releasing his hold on the woman's black hair so he could caress her cheek instead._

_His hand was immediately slapped away by the woman as she quickly shot up to her feet and turned around so she was facing the man, glaring into his equally angry silver eyes._

" _ **Don't touch me, Ruben."**_

_The anger flared in Ruvik's eyes and, out of reflex, Sebastian put himself between both ghostly figures, standing protectively in front of Sofia. An useless action, since the bandaged freak's hand went through him and closed around the woman's biceps anyway, pulling her to him._

_The hold wasn't violent or forceful. On the contrary, it was almost lovingly, and close as he was, Sebastian could see the eyes of Ruvik's ghost lose all of its dangerous edge as a soft and tender emotion took over them. He found the same emotion – one he couldn't dare to call love – in Sofia's eyes as she turned her face away from Ruvik, even as her body went willingly closer to him._

" _ **Please, let me go."**_ _The woman whispered in such a weak voice, it was a surprise the detective managed to hear it through the tortured screaming in the background._

" _ **Never. You're mine, and I keep what is mine."**_

_And, just like that, the ghostly shapes and screams disappeared at once, freeing Sebastian from their hold and allowing him to resume his exploration of the mansion._

_As he did so, the detective added one more piece to his puzzle._

* * *

_It didn't please the Doc to harm those people; that much was clear. But she still did it. And she was in love with Ruvik once. How can I trust her?_

Before the detective could further deliberate on the matter, the woman in question started to move in the bed as moans of pain left her lips. Then, suddenly, her moaning escalated to full-blown screams that made him immediately run to her side and try to wake her up.

"Doc!" Sebastian called loudly, shaking roughly the shoulders of the now thrashing woman as he sneaked glances at the closed, but unlocked, door. With his luck, Haunted would be storming in at any moment now. "Wake up, Doc! It's just a dream! Sofia!"

Thankfully, every dog has its day. As soon as the words left the detective's lips, Sofia woke up. Her screaming was replaced by a loud gasp as her body shot up quickly in a sitting position and her wide and agony-filled eyes stared unseeing at the wall in front of her.

"Sofia!" Sebastian called in a demanding whisper, turning the woman's face so she was staring at him. "Here, look at me. Do you remember who I am?"

"D-Detective?" Sofia spoke softly, her eyes slowly regaining focus. "Where are we?"

"We're in a mansion. I found that guy with the chain here in the room with you, screaming in pain and with a sort of knife plunged in his eye. You remember anything about it?"

Mechanically, the woman raised a trembling hand to her throat, caressing the skin there gently with her fingers. Those overwhelming emotions of fear, relief and unjustified guilt that had left her alone inside The Hub were now bubbling to surface inside her.

"He was choking me." Sofia answered, voice even lower than before. "He had that broken collar pressed to my throat and was pushing down so, _so_ hard… I thought I was going to die. Then I remembered about the scalpel in my pocket and-" Tears started to fall from the doctor's eyes as she replayed not only her most recent encounter with death, but also all of the previous times the Chain Man had terrorized her. Next thing she knew, she was holding her knees tightly to herself as her whole frame shook. "I had to. I was so scared."

Sofia had finally begun to crack.

Sebastian sighed as the woman started to cry softly to herself, face hidden in her knees, and took a seat at the edge of the mattress as one of his hands fell comfortingly on the top of her back. It clearly wasn't the time to discuss her past with Ruvik.

"You did well, Doc."

He heard the woman sniff as she tried to control herself and hold back her sobs - as she tried to hold the cracks inside her any way possible. In any other occasion, the detective would've told her to let it out, however this time he couldn't be more grateful for the doctor's tendency in holding back her personal suffering. They couldn't afford to stand there much longer; for all he knew, the Haunted were already coming for them.

"I'm sorry." Sofia spoke at last, raising her face and drying her tears on the back of her hands as she lowered her knees. "That was… inconvenient. We should get moving."

"It's alright." Sebastian reassured, standing on his feet so he could walk to the foot of the bed, beneath which he retrieved a pair of white sneakers. _Her_ sneakers, Sofia noted with less surprise than the detective expected. "I noticed you don't have your shoes on and these were just lying around. They won't fit perfectly with the rest of your outfit but-"

"They're perfect." Sofia spoke quickly, sparing a glance at her still bandaged feet before smiling gratefully at the detective. "Thank you."

"No problem."

Sebastian handed Sofia the pair of shoes and, while she put them on, moved to look out the unlocked door – the one which wasn't barricaded by a chest of drawers – to check for any Haunted. His shotgun was loaded and ready.

"We're clear." The detective announced thankfully, turning to see the woman standing on her feet again in front of the foot of the bed and staring at the broken window at her right.

"What happened with the Chain Man?" She asked, pursuing her lips.

"He jumped through that window as soon as I shot him with my shotgun." He answered putting said weapon away and retrieving his handgun. Since there was no horde of monsters to attack them, he might as well save some of his shells.

"You saved me again." Sofia stated as she walked to him with a soft smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Thank you, Detective."

The man shrugged. "It's fine. And… just Sebastian is fine as well."

Sofia's smile almost reached her eyes then and she daared to call the man's name softly, as if tasting it. This was the most companionship she had been shown since being dragged into STEM and it was more refreshing than she expected.

"Sebastian... _Just_ Sebastian, I mean."

"No need to waste it." The detective talked back, giving the woman a small and amused smirk from over his shoulder. He still wasn't 100% he should trust her, but he also reveled in the amicable companionship she provided. "Sofia."

Then, everything around them was involved in those familiar and foreboding blue hues that signalized the danger of Ruvik's arrival.

Before Sebastian could take any action, he found himself gasping as a cold and scarred hand shot seemingly out of nowhere and wrapped tightly around his throat, startling him in dropping his weapon. The hand, choking him only with the strength of its grip, was quick to raise him in the air, making it simply impossible for any oxygen to reach his lungs.

"You should focus your eyes on something else, _Seb_." A rough and jealousy-filled voice reached Sebastian's ears as the detective tried to release himself. "Or you might find yourself without them."

"Rub- Ruvik!" Sofia gasped in a mix of shock, fear and anger as she immediately reached out to pull on the apparition's arm, trying fruitlessly to get him to release Sebastian. "Let him go!"

But Ruvik didn't bulge. He stood perfectly still as Sofia pulled at his arm and slammed her weak fists on his chest, his knife-sharp eyes staring into Sebastian's bulging ones with a bone-chilling glare that promised him something much worse than death.

"Ruvik, please!" Sofia pleaded again, but her voice sounded very faraway to the detective. He knew he was close to losing consciousness. "Let. Him. G-"

Then Sebastian was on his knees, coughing blood and trying to breath in some air at the same time as he reached for his gun and raised it in front of him, pointing it at Ruvik.

Or, at least, at the direction Ruvik was supposed to be. But he wasn't there.

And neither was Sofia.

"Fuck."

* * *

Sofia's head was spinning as once again she was forced into one of STEM's dimensional somersaults; only, this time, she had Ruvik's ice-cold hands holding tightly on her arms, just above her elbows. She could feel his nails dig painfully into her flesh and that alone was enough to set off all of the alarms inside her head that screamed at her to find a way to break free from the man's hold as soon as possible.

Ruvik was _murderously_ angry and she didn't think she'd survive him this time.

So far he had left it up for his Chain Man to put an end to her life and, Sofia was sure, it was only because of that she had managed to survive her close encounters with death until the moment.

But Ruvik was smarter. Not only that, he seemed to have perfect control of what happened in STEM; as it was, he could truly do with her as he pleased. If she gave him the chance – hell, even if she _didn't_ – he'd kill her faster than she could blink.

Ruvik never did enjoy leaving loose ends.

That was why, as soon as Sofia felt her feet touch something that resembled solid ground, she rotated her arms outwards, successfully releasing herself from Ruvik's grip, and sprinted in the opposite direction.

At least she tried to.

The woman had barely completed her first step when she felt her body leave the ground. Before she could even notice the physics-defying happening, the doctor was hauled to the side and hit the wall, slamming her head on its surface. She lost consciousness even before her body fell to the floor, limp as a ragdoll.

With hatred and longing burning inside his grey irises, Ruvik strode towards Sofia's limp body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian played a small role in this (and I can promise he'll come back soon enough ;)); what did you think about it?
> 
> I hope this chapter was worth the wait :)
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid
> 
> PS: before Pokemon Go, I was playing Dragon Age: Inquisition (late I know) and that game was responsible for a temporary author's block (that I hope won't be continued by Pokemon Go) and a sharp decline of my academic efforts. In other words: awesome game! ;D


	28. Chapter 28: Run Baby Run

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much everyone who has commented the last chapter! They were a great help for my writing (so much that i'm updating sooner than I expected :D)

Ruvik observed the unconscious woman with blazing eyes. His hands were curled tight into fists, making his nails dig in the sensitive skin of his palm and draw a soft stream of blood from it. He didn't feel any actual pain – the one good thing having his body torn apart and his consciousness forced into STEM, his literal self-made hell, had brought him – but the motion still brought a much needed sense of masochist familiarity to him. For a long time physical pain had been his most important limiting factor, the one thing that managed to hold him still in one place and keep him from doing something stupid.

Like killing the woman he loved.

" _You think everyone wants to take me from you as well. Despite how many times I told you that I wasn't going anywhere, you still resent even the slightest sign of me caring for someone else. But that's me, Ruben; I care."_

Sofia's words from seemingly so long ago at once came to surface. Words he hadn't allowed himself to listen again up until now broke all the carefully constructed mental barriers that kept Ruvik safe from dealing with the debilitating emotional pain that the woman had brought him. And they forced him to see that most of that pain wasn't born from her actions; that most of it actually came from his jealousy and hate.

_It all ended that night I found Leslie Withers laying his head on her lap. It was the beginning of the end._

A part of him knew that Sofia had never harboured any romantic feelings for the boy, but that part was small and weak, stunted beyond repair since Laura's death. His jealousy-filled mind couldn't help but see in that innocent action an act of malicious betrayal.

It was the same with the Director. Despite knowing better, despite knowing Sofia would never willing hurt a human being, most of all _him_ whom she had loved with all she had, he had believed when the Director insinuated the doctor had been part of the conspiracy that murdered him when, in truth, the woman had never even known anything about it. More than that, she remained faithful to him even after death.

And now he had done it again with that blasted detective. His jealousy was fast to make him turn a simple exchange of words in an act of betrayal and send him into a rage. And that rage was quick to make him hurt his woman.

_She should've known better than to taunt me. Fraternizing with that detective… Disgusting._

But just because Ruvik knew his jealousy was clouding his judgement didn't mean he could just disregard it. Sofia was _his_ after all. She had no right to stray from him in any manner, but he had every right to punish her as he saw fit.

Somehow, those thoughts did nothing to ease the regret that bubbled in his chest at watching her form some feet in front of him, damaged into stillness by his very own hands.

Unconsciously, his nails dug further into his palm-

_She deserved it._

_-_ making the pinch finally escalate into a dull ache as he tried to pretend he didn't _know_ that he alone was responsible for the pain Sofia had endured when aiding him in the creation of STEM and was now enduring inside the machine.

_No. It's Jimenez's fault that she is here. He is the one that used my blueprints to create and activate the wireless connection to drag her inside this hell._

But he was the one that brought to life the Proprietor, the very creature that would've killed Sofia minutes ago, if not for the interference of that blasted detective.

Ruvik had felt when STEM shifted and took the Proprietor to Sofia's location as soon as it happened, but he had been dealing with the agent from Mobius – Juli Kidman – at that moment and couldn't personally access with the situation. He was just about to send one of the creatures that were more in tune with his own consciousness to eliminate the walking abortion of his mind that was the Proprietor – _maybe the Keeper or a couple of Doppelgangers_ – when he felt STEM shift one more time, signalling that the pest had fled the scene.

Immediately he knew one of the detectives – most likely the surprisingly resilient and annoyingly meddlesome _Seb_ – had managed to scare off the creature, allowing him the needed time to wrap things up with Kidman before teleporting himself to Sofia's location.

It was past time for Ruvik to retrieve his woman. She needed his protection- no, she had _earned_ it; he had seen in her memories proof she had been loyal to him even after his death, refusing the Director's disgusting advances. Not only that, try as she might to deny her feelings, she still looked at him with a fraction of the love she once felt for him in her eyes. That love was veiled by a forced layer of indifference but it was still there and it brought to life emotions that should've died a long time ago, alongside Ruben.

But, contrary to all expectations, Ruben's emotions survived inside Ruvik. For a long time he tried to deny their existence and convince himself that his feelings of love towards Sofia were no more, but he couldn't avoid the truth anymore. His love for the woman had endured the lies the Director had fed him and all of the pain and loneliness inside STEM and now was finally coming out of its state of dormancy, ready to consume and destroy anything and anyone that dared to come in-between him and his woman.

_Seb… You better keep your hands to yourself if you know what's good for you. You might find me not so lenient otherwise._

Silver eyes narrowed in anger at the memory of his woman smiling to the detective, as he resumed his march towards Sofia's unmoving body. At reaching the woman, he dropped to one knee and reached out to her, encircling her neck with his hand as if he meant to choke her, but not daring to actually tighten his grip.

He felt tempted to do so, though. To remind her that she wasn't allowed to stray from him ever again.

" _Oh, Ruben."_

The whisper was soft, full of pain and regret, and spoken in Sofia's voice even if the woman remained unconscious before him.

With measured movements, Ruvik stood up and turned around to find a grey shadow built with the shape and face of Sofia sitting at his piano. Her hands were hiding her face from view but he could see in the shaking of her shoulders and in the occasional whimpers that escaped her that she was crying. For him.

Ruvik watched the shadow with fascination, feeling demented joy at the fact that Sofia had mourned his death. Until the memory was done repeating itself, he observed it with undivided attention, basking in the knowledge that his death had brought misery to the woman he loved.

It was just what he needed to push her last transgression with Sebastian to the back of his mind and, once the shadow had disappeared from sight, turn to finally face Sofia with a smile on his face.

Only to find her gone.

* * *

Sofia didn't understand what had happened.

One minute she was lying on the cold floor of the music room in the Victoriano manor, staring at Ruvik's back with wide eyes full of fear as her still lethargic brain tried to figure out a way to escape him. It didn't matter how, she needed to find a way to get far, _far_ away from him.

Then, the world blurred and shifted around her and next thing the doctor knew she was free falling towards one of the thankfully deep pounds of Krimson City's Central Park.

With the inaptitude of a child, Sofia clumsily paddled her way towards the water surface, gasping in relief when she finally managed to breath in a large gulp of air. Her relief was lost-lived since she didn't possess enough swimming skills to keep herself still in one place inside the water and had to desperately swim to the pound's edge, swallowing a great amount of its green-ish water in the process.

Breathing hard, Sofia crawled on the grass and rolled, letting her body fall belly up. Soaked to the bone, the woman took some time to catch her breath, staring at the skies above her with a wonder that could only be classified as imprudent in her current situation. The Chain Man could be marching towards her without her being none the wiser, but still she couldn't find it inside herself to avert her gaze; she felt exhausted and those clear blue skies framed by the trees' green foliage were reassuring and restoring in their normalcy.

For a moment, she wished it would all end there, with her laying on soft grass, staring up at a beautiful summer sky and feeling no pain whatsoever.

_Leslie…_

The boy's image and voice at once invaded the doctor's mind to remind her she couldn't give up. If not for herself, for him she'd keep pushing further, fighting creatures of her nightmares and her past until he was safe.

Or until she could fight no more.

Slowly, Sofia's breathing returned to normal and the adrenalin started to leave her bloodstream, allowing her to feel just how much she was hurting. A throbbing pain involved the entirety of her head and another one pulsated from her right shoulder, which had violently slammed on the floor when Ruvik hauled her into the air.

Holding back tears but allowing a miserable groan to escape her lips Sofia forced herself to stand up, only to stumble down again at the sudden spike of pain that shot up her skull.

"Damn." The doctor said through clenched teeth, crawling towards a tree so she could use it as support to stand up again, much slower this time.

Her vision took some time to focus, but when it did Sofia immediately settled her eyes on the billboard standing a few metres in front of her, exhibiting the park's map. Without a second thought, the doctor marched to that board and examined it to find out where exactly in the park she was and if there was a nearby establishment in which she could find an infirmary with some painkillers for her shoulder and head.

Sofia allowed herself to sigh in relief at finding that the lake into which she fell was at the very corner of the park, close to Hotel Pietro, a famous and luxurious hotel that surely would have an infirmary stocked with painkillers for her head and shoulder. If she had any luck, she might even find Leslie somewhere along the way.

The sound of a branch snapping startled the doctor and she turned around quickly, pressing her back against the billboard as her eyes scanned her surroundings for any signs of danger. Sure enough, she could see some Haunted wandering the park some feet in front of her, not spotting her but surely walking ever closer to her location.

Without a second thought, Sofia took in a deep breath and started to make her way to the hotel, doing her best to avoid any Haunted that happened to cross her way. She cursed the fact that she had lost Ruben's scalpel during her last encounter with the Chain Man.

_Hopefully I'll find something for protection in there as well._

* * *

Despite her throbbing shoulder and head, Sofia chose to visit the kitchen before looking for the Hotel's Infirmary. Not only was it easier to locate but the number of Haunted wandering the city was dangerous; even with them being rather distracted, the doctor had experienced some very close calls when walking to the Hotel's doors and she didn't think she'd be able to avoid all of those creatures the entire time. Sooner or later – with later being Sofia's preference – she'd have no choice but to confront the Haunted and she wanted to be prepared to get a good hit on them to ensure her escape.

So, holding her injured shoulder, the doctor made her way through the Hotel's lobby and dinning room, moving slowly and hiding underneath tables as to not draw the Haunted's attention.

Once inside the enormous kitchen Sofia had to mentally slap herself to keep from staring. The cooking area was enormous and very well equipped with the best of the best; she wished she could cook in such a place one day.

But now wasn't the time for wishful thinking and the animal grunts that came from the Haunted that were inside the kitchen with her were enough reminder of that.

With pursed lips and eyes fixed on a set of carving knives standing tauntingly on a counter some metres away from her, the doctor dropped to a crouching position and started to move across the kitchen as silently as possible, using the counters, stoves and refrigerators as cover to keep herself from the Haunted's line of sight.

It took the doctor a good while but she manged to reach the counter over which the knives were without trouble. With a relieved sigh and allowing herself to lay her knees on the floor to give her legs a rest from all that crouching, Sofia reached above her head slowly, carefully closing her right hand around the grip of a sharp and long carving knife.

Just when her forefinger touched her thumb around the grip of the intended weapon, just when she _finally_ found some sense of security, it all went downhill.

The kitchen's doors she had sneaked through minutes before were slammed open violently, making her hand retreat in fright with no knife inside it. At the same time, all of the Haunted turned their heads around to stare at the doors and the man who had just barged through them.

They immediately sprinted towards him.

Unfortunately to Sofia, she was in the middle of the way of a couple of those Haunted and before she could blink, one of them had her bent over the counter with his hands around her throat, throttling her.

Sofia's bulged eyes fell on the set of knives that was laying so close to her face and she instinctively reached for them. But her movement was clumsy and desperate, and it only pushed the blades - her only chance of self-defence - to the floor, away from her eager hand.

And the monster wasted no time in seizing its chance to try and sink its rotten and sharp teeth in the woman's neck.

Cursing her clumsiness and lack of luck, the doctor did the only thing she could and pushed her hands into the Haunted's face, pushing it as far from her neck as her own meagre strength would allow her. She knew it was useless, that the thing was much stronger than herself and would soon have its fangs in her flesh, but she simply couldn'tgive up. No matter how physically and emotionally drained she was, Sofia Prieto didn't _do_ giving up; especially not when Leslie was lost somewhere in STEM, alone and scared. She'd fight, even if she couldn't win.

As if rewarding the woman's determination to stay alive as well as redeeming himself for being the reason she was in risk of dying, the man who had barged into the kitchen ran to her aid.

He charged towards the Haunted pinning her to the counter and slammed his shoulder against the thing's side, violently pushing it to the ground.

Before Sofia could grasp what had just happened she found herself running across the kitchen, with her hand being pulled by another's; a larger, leather-covered one.

"Come with me!" She heard the man say and saw the blurred image of him turning his head to look over his shoulder at the Haunted chasing them. "Hurry!"

Next thing Sofia knew, she was on her knees and feeling cold. She had been pushed inside the meat freezer and was now watching the man's back as he pushed the thick, metal door close and lock it, successfully creating a safe barrier between themselves and the Haunted.

"We're safe…" The man breathed out and Sofia knew he had to resist the urge to flinch when the booming sound of the Haunted throwing their weight on the door echoed through the freezer. "For now at least."

The images around Sofia slowly came to focus and she could finally see the face of the man who saved her. And it was not a face she knew.

"I'm sorry for manhandling you like that." The man spoke, offering his leather-covered hand. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." Sofia answered as she took the man's hand and was pulled back to her feet. "Please don't apologize. You saved my life."

"Ma'am-"

"Ma'am?" The doctor echoed, raising a curious eyebrow at the title. "Oh. You must be the other detective."

"Other?"

"I've met Detective Castellanos already." She explained before offering her hand for the man to shake. "I'm Sofia Prieto."

"Detective Joseph Oda." The man answered, one hand returning the handshake while the other pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "It's good to meet someone who isn't trying to kill me for a change."

"I know the feeling." Sofia sighed as she started to rub her arms in an attempt of keeping the cold at bay. "But I don't think we'll manage to hide from those monsters forever. Some of them are big enough to break down this door."

"I think we're safe for now. But I agree that it would be best if we found a way out, instead of staying put and hoping for those things to go away." Joseph put in as his eyes scanned the freezer for a way out. "By the way, do you have any idea what is going on? What _are_ those things?"

Sofia was thankful that the detective had his back turned to her and didn't see the tensing of her shoulders at the question. How could she tell him that not only she knew what was happening to them and why, but she was also responsible for it?

She couldn't. She didn't have the courage.

"I…don't know." The doctor lied, pursing her lips as she turned her face away from Joseph in shame, flinching when the movement brought a stab of pain to her head, reminding her just how hurt she truly was and that no amount of adrenalin could keep her from feeling it for too long.

Her headache combined with the pain in her shoulder and together they grew, making Sofia slouch and lay her back on the wall closest to her with her eyes tightly shut as she wished for the sudden wave of agony to just go away.

Without even realizing it, she had stopped pursing her lips and started to chew on her bottom lip.

"Are you alright?"

Joseph's voice was low and worried, impossible for a doctor like Sofia to ignore. Slowly she opened her eyes to find the detective's eyes staring worriedly down at her through his crooked glasses.

"Don't worry." The doctor reassured even as she felt cold sweat sprout all over her body. "Those things roughed me up a bit, but nothing too serious. Let's conti- Is that an air vent up there? Behind those boxes."

The detective turned around, immediately focusing his gaze on the spot Sofia was staring. He couldn't be sure from where he was, but it indeed it seemed there was an air vent at the top of the shelves in front of him, partially hidden behind some cardboard boxes.

"It looks like it." Joseph agreed as he examined the situation. "I'll climb up the shelves and push the boxes out of the way to confirm if it's a vent. Please, get as far back as you can so nothing falls on you."

The woman did as told and quickly stepped back, allowing Joseph the space he needed to work. A short while and a couple of fallen boxes later, the detective had successfully revealed the air vent to their eyes.

"There." He announced, still holding himself up the shelves. "I think we can easil- Wait. What is- **?!** "

**"DETECTIVE!"**

Suddenly, large, clawed and blood-covered hands emerged from the air duct and closed around Joseph's upper body, quickly pulling him half-way inside the vent. Sofia's eyes widened and she leaped towards Joseph, hugging his legs tightly in an attempt to anchor him to the floor. But her weight made no difference to Reborn Laura's hands and they easily pulled both her and the detective inside the vent.

Darkness invaded the doctor's sight the deeper she was dragged inside the seeming endless vent so she didn't see when another pair of hands appeared behind her. She only felt them closing around her legs. Those bloodied hands pulled once on the opposite direction she was being dragged, easily breaking the hold Sofia had on Joseph's body and pulling her away from him.

The doctor felt her head and body slam on the insides of the ducts as she was taken to an unknown but certainly terrifying destination. She knew it was all Ruvik's design. All the hurt and fear. It was all on him.

Still she hoped he'd show up to save her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, lots of back-and-forth with Ruvik and Sofia regardig their relationship. But then again, such a complex situation deserves lots of twisted developments instead of a straight line to the resolution. XD
> 
> And Joseph (finally) made an appearance! :D
> 
> Now let's hope my inspiration lasts for a while longer so I can post next chapter (and do I have a treat planned for all of you in it ;)) as soon as I did this one (though with exams in my close future, I don't see that actually happening... T.T)
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid
> 
> PS: this chapter's title came from the song "Run baby run" by Garbage. ;)


	29. Chapter 29: Roller Coaster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Anyone still there after all this time? =.=
> 
> I'm sorry for taking so long to update this... If anyone reads my IllumixOC HxH fic, you know that I've been rather busy during September and October and didn't have the time to write. Then, when I finally got the time, some personal stuff happened and got me rather down so I didn't have the energy to write. I'm still in the process of dealing with it but at least now I have the energy to write again :D
> 
> I remember saying I had a treat for you all in this chapter... Hope you enjoy it ;D

_Suddenly, large, clawed and blood-covered hands emerged from the air duct and closed around Joseph's upper body, quickly pulling him half-way inside the vent. Sofia's eyes widened and she leaped towards Joseph, hugging his legs tightly in an attempt to anchor him to the floor. But her weight made no difference to Reborn Laura's hands and they easily pulled both her and the detective inside the vent._

_Darkness invaded the doctor's sight the deeper she was dragged inside the seeming endless vent so she didn't see when another pair of hands appeared behind her. She only felt them closing around her legs. Those bloodied hands pulled once on the opposite direction she was being dragged, easily breaking the hold Sofia had on Joseph's body and pulling her away from him._

_The doctor felt her head and body slam on the insides of the ducts as she was taken to an unknown but certainly terrifying destination. She knew it was all Ruvik's design. All the hurt and fear. It was all on him._

_Still she hoped he'd show up to save her._

* * *

 

Sofia expected to fall in a place filled with pain and blood and body parts, however what met her was nothing more than the warmth and softness. She was on top of the mattress of the bed in her apartment.

"Hello."

Nervous and wide-eyed as was the norm inside STEM, the doctor quickly sat up in her bed and focused her eyes on the direction that unmistakable rough voice had come from. Ruvik was standing in front of her bedroom's door, staring down at her with silver eyes that, to her utmost surprise and confusion, held longing and warmth inside them

"I knew you'd give me some trouble-" Ruvik began in a calm voice as he stalked to the side of the bed, so he could reach out and touch Sofia's face. Gently, as if he was handling some very delicate, very expensive china. "-But to actually be able to bend my world so you could escape me? Even unconsciously that's no easy deed, my love. But I couldn't expect anything less from you. After me, you're the one who most understands STEM and how it works. It's only natural that you could hold a larger influence over it than the others. Maybe that's why you've been resisting this place's corruption so well too. Or did Mobius give you the same present they gave our mutual friend Kid? Well, it doesn't matter right now. What's important is that you're still you. And you're still mine."

Unmoving, Sofia bit her lower lip and stared at Ruvik as he lazily traced her lips with his thumb, smiling to himself. Then he tucked some of her hair behind her ear and his smile was quickly replaced by an unsatisfied scowl.

"Look what you've done to yourself." He continued, brushing his fingers over a bump on the side of her head. "You had no right."

With a scowl of her own, Sofia turned her face away.

"Your creatures did that to me. _You_ did that to me."

The doctor flinched and bit her lip to keep herself from yelping in pain when Ruvik's cold fingers pressed against her wound, hard and without mercy.

"You're the one who ran from me." The man spat. "You brought it all upon yourself."

Sofia didn't dare to look at Ruvik, choosing to scan her surroundings for anything she could throw at him so she could make her escape. She had ran from him because she chose survival over death and she wasn't about to stop now.

Unfortunately for her, she never liked keeping bedside lamps in her bedroom so her only potential weapon was the fluffy pillow at her side. She was cornered and defenceless. She was at Ruvik's mercy; he could indeed do with her as he pleased. And it terrified her to think what it would please him at the moment.

"…What happens now?" The doctor asked carefully, trying to sound brave as she hesitantly raised her gaze to Ruvik's. "You'll kill me yourself or you'll have that _thing_ do the job for you?"

The man's lips twitched in amusement, but that didn't reassure Sofia in the least.

"You will not die. Especially not by the hands of that mental miscarriage." Ruvik spoke with finality and, in a blink of an eye, Sofia felt all of her wounds heal at once.

The doctor's eyes widened and she immediately opened her mouth, even if she didn't know how to respond to Ruvik's words. He saved her the trouble of figuring it out by laying his thumb over her lips and softly shushing her as he pushed his face closer to hers.

"I saw your memories." The apparition revealed with a brief twitch of his lips. "And they pleased me very much."

Sofia bit her lip and tried to put some distance between herself and the man, but her head and back hit the headboard of the bed all too soon, leaving her trapped between the wood and Ruvik, who didn't waste a second in crawling over her frame in a way that years ago she would classify as sensual, but that now seemed mostly dangerous. She felt like a lamb cornered by a starving wolf.

"Do not pull away from me." Ruvik demanded, silver eyes pinning her down with their intensity.

Sofia couldn't help but avert her eyes and push herself further against the headboard.

"You scare me." She admitted, noticing with relief that the man hovering over her stilled completely at those words. "I don't know what to expect from you anymore, but I know it'll only hurt me. Maybe even kill me."

As those words left her mouth, Sofia felt tears threaten to fall and closed her eyes in an unsuccessful attempt to hold them back. It was more painful than she imagined, to actually say out-loud what she had known all-along.

The man she once loved – maybe still did, despite all that had happened between them – would be the same one to kill her.

Sofia felt cold fingers settle on her face and, as much as she wanted to appear at least somewhat strong and controlled, she couldn't help but flinch. That action went completely ignored by Ruvik, who just raised his other hand to her face as well and turned it towards himself.

"Look at me."

Ruvik's voice was as rough and demanding as expected, but something in it was enough to make Sofia's heart skip a beat, and not due to fear. It was that something that she'd find in _Ruben_ 's voice whenever he talked to her. It was something… warm.

Because of that something, Sofia immediately complied with the demand and stared wide-eyed at Ruvik, not fully understanding what was happening anymore.

"I can take you to Leslie."

The doctor's heart leaped to her throat and she even sat up straighter in the bed.

"…Will you?" She asked carefully, noticing that, instead of lashing out at her obvious eagerness to find Leslie, Ruvik simply smirked in amusement.

"I will. If you earn it."

The doctor's response was immediate. "What do you want me to do?"

Ruvik didn't say anything, but his hands and eyes did. They moved down Sofia's cheeks and neck teasingly, slowly making their way to the first button of doctor's blouse.

As his cold fingers undid the button, Ruvik's silver eyes rose to Sofia's face, taking in the blush of her cheeks and the veiled want in her eyes as signs of his conquest.

"You've always looked beautiful in red."

At this point, Sofia didn't know if he was talking about her blouse or her face, nor if she should feel flattered or disgusted. Either way, it didn't matter. This was wrong, and she had to stop it.

"What do you think you're doing?" The woman demanded, chewing on her lower lip as her hands grabbed Ruvik's, holding his wandering fingers still.

"I'm giving you an excuse to do what you want to, but are too afraid to admit." Ruvik answered easily. "You still want me but think that it's wrong to indulge. Your precious conscience is the only thing keeping you from returning my affections so I'm giving it an _out_. Give yourself to me, and I'll give Leslie to you."

_Not that he'll remain "Leslie" much longer._

"Ruvik-"

" _Ruben_." The man interrupted. " _You_ may call me Ruben."

Sofia's eyes widened and she couldn't deny the happiness and relief she felt bubble inside her chest. The mere possibility of Ruben being alive somewhere inside the apparition was enough to bring to surface all the emotions she had been trying so hard to push as far away from her mind as possible. All the pain, love, regret and _want_ Ruben made her feel hit her like a tsunami.

"I can't." Sofia breathed out, looking away from Ruben in an attempt to hide from him just how many emotions he was making her feel. " _We_ can't."

"We can." He protested, gently turning her face back to him. "We _should_."

"Why?"

" _Because I want to-"_

Sofia's eyes widened as her own voice answered her question and both she and Ruben turned their gaze to their right. There, standing side by side and staring out of the window in Sofia's bedroom were the shadows of her and Ruben, playing one of their memories for them.

" _-Not now, obviously. But one day. And we've been together for a long time now. So I think it's important for me to know your opinion on the matter."_

"Please no." Sofia whispered horrified; she knew exactly which memory that was and she couldn't look away.

Ruvik didn't bother to answer, for he too had been completely drawn by the memory.

"… _I never thought about the subject."_ Ruben's shadow replied. _"My thoughts about the future involved only STEM. I never thought I'd have the need to consider this."_

" _Are you saying you don't want to?"_

" _I'm saying I don't know. It would bring a whole different future than I've envisioned to myself."_

" _I think it'd be a nice future. A distant future of course, since I have no plans to stop dedicating myself to STEM and my patients anytime soon. But in a few years… it would be nice, I think. Buy a house with a large backyard, slow down with my work a bit and you know."_

" _Fill it up with carbon copies of yourself?"_

" _Don't mock me." The woman's shadow scolded in a humoured tone. "I can easily picture you with a child, especially a daughter. You'd teach her science and how to play the piano, and spoil her rotten. You'd treat her like a princess."_

_Ruben's shadow turned his body so he was completely facing the woman's and both ghosts remained in silence for a long time, staring at one another with pensive eyes until the first broke the deafening silence that had been installed._

" _I guess the scenario isn't completely… appalling. It's something to be considered, for a distant future."_

_Sofia's shadow smiled and gently wrapped her arms around the other's neck._

" _For a distant future."_

The doctor watched both shadows kiss and disappear from her sight, leaving her with an even more chaotic hurricane of emotions to deal with. And the one person responsible for all those emotions was there with her, with his silver eyes fixed on her face, dissecting every feeling and thought she had.

Gently, Ruben caressed Sofia's bottom lip with his thumb and moved his face closer to hers so the only thing standing between their lips was his cold and scarred finger. For what seemed the hundredth time since falling inside her bedroom Sofia felt her heart lose its rhythm because of Ruben.

But this time, it was not frightening.

"Make love with me, Sofia."

Not frightening at all.

Pushing everything away from her thoughts – STEM, the Director, the Chain Man, Leslie and _Ruvik_ – Sofia let the silent tears streak down her eyes freely as she threw herself at the man in her bed.

Even if brief and fragile, Ruben was offering her an escape; he was offering her one last time with the love of her life... also the chance to recover Leslie.

And she would accept.

* * *

 

Ruben had always known the fragile shell that was his body was an obstacle in his and Sofia's physical relations, but with time learnt to accept it. Both did all they could to cope with his limitations and keep a somehow active sexual relationship and, for a while, it made him believe his scars weren't that much of a problem after all.

He had been so wrong.

Without the constant worry about hurting his body, Sofia showed a whole different attitude in bed. And he damned that useless carcass he once dared to call his body for not allowing him to enjoy his woman in such a manner sooner.

Sofia more than earned her right to be taken back to Leslie. The vision of her body atop of his, all flushed and sweaty as she took from him what she wanted was something he would never allow himself to forget.

"I knew you prefer to be on top." Ruben began, smirking in satisfaction at the unfamiliar but very welcomed sensation of the weight of the limp woman laying on him. "But I never thought I might prefer it too."

Ruben felt Sofia's body tense before it started to shake softly. It didn't take much to know the woman was sobbing.

"Crying doesn't suit you, my love."

The woman's sobbing only increased with the last word and Ruvik had to hold back the urge to grab her by the neck and force her into ceasing her crying. It wasn't a loud sort of crying – actually it was strangely silent – but the fact that Sofia felt the need to break down immediately after making love to him hit a rather sensitive nerve.

"We shouldn't have done that." Sofia whispered in his ear with an unexpectedly steady voice. "This was a mistake."

No sooner the words left her lips and Ruvik pushed her off him, nearly sending her tumbling out of bed.

"What was?" The man demanded, pinning her down with his glaring, knife-sharp eyes. "Making love to me? Or selling yourself like a prostitute in the name of your precious Leslie Withers?"

Sofia bit her lips and narrowed her teary eyes at Ruvik, as if she wanted to protest his words. But she didn't utter a single word, choosing to silently retrieve her clothing from the floor. Ruvik himself had hit a rather sensitive nerve, and he felt a great deal of satisfaction out of it.

It still wasn't enough to heal his wounded pride though.

"Well, let me save you the trouble of deciding which action you regret the most." Ruvik began, materializing himself in front of Sofia. He was already fully dressed, but the woman was mid-way into buttoning her blouse and she was stopped by cold hands wrapping around her wrists tightly. "The deal is off."

The doctor opened her mouth, ready to scream at Ruvik in a way that could very much end her life, but before she could protest the man slammed his lips over hers violently.

She pushed and punched at Ruvik, but he only smirked in the kiss at her feeble attempts of freeing herself from his hold. Only when he was satisfied did he pull away from the kiss.

"I'll come back for you." He promised.

Then, before Sofia could get even one word in, he disappeared from her sight in a glitch, leaving her to chew on her lip and glare at the bed in frustrated anger.

_Damn it! Damn it all to hell!_

* * *

 

Once she was dressed, the doctor started moving, not daring to stay still in one place for long even if it was a mimicry of her home. She was positively surprised by the lack of Haunted inside her apartment, but even so she found it safer to go to her small laundry and retrieve the hammer she had in her toolbox, just in case.

Even the building was mostly empty. When leaving it, she only came across one of the monsters as she climbed down the last flight of stairs in the building and it was very easy to just push the creature down the stairs and crack its skull open with the hammer while it was still disoriented on the floor.

It scared the doctor how easy it was becoming to just kill the Haunted.

As soon as she walked out of the building, Sofia took in a deep breath and squared her shoulders. She knew things would only grow more complicated from now on.

"I wish I could say the same." A man spoke, not far from her.

But it seemed she wouldn't have to deal with them on her own.

Sofia turned her head to the direction the masculine voice had come from and found the parking lot of the neighbourhood's school buses open. Only one bus was inside and she could see the two detectives – Sebastian and Joseph – talking by its side.

"Detectives!" Sofia called out, rushing to them.

"Sofia!" Sebastian greeted, laying a friendly hand on her shoulder. "Glad to see you're alright."

"You too." The woman said with a polite nod to each, quickly scanning their bodies for any signs of injuries and letting out a sigh of relieve at finding none. "Have any of you seen Leslie?"

"I saw him not too long ago. But he ran away and disappeared from sight. Again." Sebastian answered, combing his fingers through his hair in frustration. "What about you, Joseph?"

"Sorry. But you two are the only ones I've encountered in a long while."

"I figured." Detective Castellanos spoke. "The boy must be half-way across the city already. He's a fast runner."

The doctor let out a sigh as she nodded. "I think you're right."

"Well, in this case, I think there's a way for us to catch up with him." Joseph began in a helpful tone, fixing his gaze on the bus close to them. "I think I might have found some transportation."

The three of them wasted no time in climbing inside the school bus.

"I don't think I can drive this." The doctor admitted as she eyed the driver's seat.

"One step at a time, doc. Is this thing even gonna run?" Sebastian asked in a voice that clearly showed he didn't plan on getting his hopes up until he had actual reason to.

"Only one way to find out."

Sofia heard the clicking sound of heels approaching them and next thing she knew, she had been pushed back by none other than Juli Kidman, who was now sitting on the driver's seat, desperately trying to start the vehicle.

"Shit!"

"Juli?" Sofia called worriedly. "Are you alright?"

"What are you doing?" Sebastian demanded. "Answer me, Kid-"

Suddenly the bus was shaken, making both detectives and the doctor fall to their knees. Sofia heard a thunderous sound coming from her right and turned her head to the side, feeling her eyes widen at finding a giant spider leg just outside the bus.

Fortunately, it was just then that Juli managed to bring the bus to life. And she wasted no time to push her foot onto the gas pedal as far as it went.

"Hold tight!" Juli warned as she barely avoided hitting the parking lot's wall. "It's going to be a bumpy ride!"

If that wasn't enough warning for Sofia, watching bus' ceiling being torn out easily by another enormous arachnoid limb, revealing to her an even larger deformed creature certainly was.

"Stay back, doc!" Sebastian ordered as both he and Joseph retrieved their guns and aimed it at the monster.

It bothered Sofia to admit it, but it really was all that she could do during that ride. Without a gun she was completely useless.

* * *

 

Until Joseph got shot.

"Joseph, NO!"

Before Sebastian could blink, Sofia was by his side, pushing Joseph's hands away from his wound so she could take a look at it.

"Sebastian." The doctor began in a no-nonsense voice. "Help me lay him down and then turn him around. I need to see if there's an exit wound."

The detective did as told and together they moved Joseph over one of the bus' benches so he was laying on his back. Joseph grunted and moaned in pain, but still the two pushed him on his side for long enough for Sofia to find the bullet's exit wound. The bullet didn't seem to have pierced through any bones in its trajectory, which was very good.

"Sebastian, please tear out the sleeve from my blouse." Sofia requested, not moving her eyes from Joseph's wound as she stretched her arm to the detective, who quickly obliged. "Thanks. Now keep him up for a little longer. Don't worry Joseph, I'm almost done."

The doctor folded the sleeve three times and used it to cover the exit wound before helping Sebastian lay Joseph back down and immediately turning her attentions to the entrance wound.

"Does anyone have some sort of knife?" The doctor asked. "I need to cut his clothes to take a better look."

"Here." Sebastian spoke, offering her his blade.

Sofia immediately took the knife and sliced Joseph's shirt and vest open, revealing a tear-drop shaped wound. It was smaller than the exit wound and, thankfully, not bleeding all that much.

"It _seems_ the bullet didn't hit any bones, major arteries or organs." Sofia spoke and settled her gaze on Joseph's pained face. She bit her lower lip. "But, I'd still like to check for injuries done to your bowels, and for that I'd need to insert my fingers in the wound. It'd hurt an awful lot."

Joseph took in a deep breath but nodded his acquiescence nonetheless.

The doctor nodded back and turned her gaze to Sebastian.

"Hold him."

The senior detective again obliged quickly to her request and pressed Joseph's arms and chest down, nodding for Sofia to get started already.

The doctor did her examination as fast as she could, but it still seemed to go on forever. Joseph's scream were filled with agony and all Sofia wished for was an IV drop of morphine.

As soon as she was done, she asked for Sebastian to tear off her other sleeve so she could use it to cover the entrance wound.

"I can't be 100% sure without a CT scan, but I think the bullet didn't damage your intestines. The damage is minimum and very within my capacities to repair." The doctor said to Joseph with a reassuring smile, keeping pressure on his wound. "We just need to find some thread and needle."

As in on cue, Juli stopped the bus and pointed to the outside.

"There's an ambulance there." She said. "There might be some kind of first aid. I'll go."

"No. I'll do it. Don't let any of them on-board." Sebastian ordered, referring to the Haunted before settling his hard eyes on Sofia's kneeled form. "Keep him alive."

"Surgical sutures, homeostatic dressings, antibiotics, disinfectant solution, anaesthetics and saline solution." Sofia listed, not moving her eyes from Joseph. "Bring to me as many of these as you find, as quick as possible."

Sebastian nodded to the doctor and exchanged a meaningful look with Kidman before leaving them.

"Don't worry, Joseph." Sofia reassured the wounded man with a smile. "He'll be back soon."

* * *

 

"I found the homeostatic, some morphine and adrenalin syringes, a bacteriostatic – it's a sort of antibiotic, right? – and some saline solution."

Sofia immediately got to work. She injected some morphine and bacteriostatic into Joseph and then used the saline solution to clean his wounds as much as possible before covering them with the homeostatic dressings.

"We don't need the adrenalin now since his blood pressure seems to be stable, but it won't hurt to hold on to it." The doctor spoke as she stood up and turned to talk to Sebastian and Kidman. "He still might-"

"Shit!" Sebastian interrupted, looking out the window behind Sofia and not liking at all of what he saw. "Let's get out of here, fast."

Startled, the doctor turned around to find a hoard of Haunted approaching the bus. Kidman was already on the driver's seat and stepping on the gas pedal.

"I'm going to push through! It's going to get a little rough!"

The bus slammed full-force on the cars parked in front of it, pushing its way through them and away from the Haunted. It was more than enough to make Sofia fall back to her knees.

"Hold onto me." Sebastian offered the doctor as he pulled her back to her feet.

The bus shook once again and Sofia found herself pressed against the detective's chest, using him as support. "Thanks."

"No. Thank you." The detective began, sparing a glance to Joseph. "You saved Joseph's life."

Sofia smiled and was about to respond that he shouldn't thank her for that.

Instead she suddenly found herself holding onto one of the benches' bars as to not fly out off the inexplicably airborne bus as a very familiar voice echoed in her ears.

" _I told you I'd come back."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter was worth the wait! :D
> 
> Please tell me what you think about it (from Sofia and Ruben's moments in her room to her part in the ride) ;)
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid


	30. Chapter 30: And The World Will Burn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it took me more than two months to update this! I know I left you in a bit of a cliffhanger in the last chapter. :(
> 
> I ended up focusing more on my HxH fic during the vacations, also I decided to start writing my own original work (hopefully it'll become an actual novel one day) so this fic was a bit neglected in the last couple of months. And, to be honest, I was lacking the mood and the will to write horror so I kind of postponed starting the new chapter. :(
> 
> But it is ready now! :D
> 
> I really hope you enjoy it and, pleaaaase tell me what you think of it. Due to all of the issues listed above i was quite difficult for me to write this particular chapter so I'm not feeling so hot about it. XP

The bus shook once again and Sofia found herself pressed against the detective's chest, using him as support. "Thanks."

"No. Thank you." The detective began, sparing a glance to Joseph. "You saved Joseph's life."

Sofia smiled and was about to respond that he shouldn't thank her for that.

Instead she suddenly found herself holding onto one of the benches' bars as to not fly out off the inexplicably airborne bus as a very familiar voice echoed in her ears.

" _I told you I'd come back."_

* * *

 

Sofia felt the air being pushed out of her lungs none too gently by the force with which her back hit the floor. The woman bit her lips and focused her attentions on breathing alone, trying her best to ignore the painful throbbing of her back and the screeching sound of metal scratching agaisnt metal that was currently assaulting her ears. Her senses took in her surroundings; from the carpeted floor beneath her to the missing pieces of the wall and ceiling at her side that were allowing the bus' carcass to hang out of the edge of the building. She had fallen on the top floors of an apartment complex it seemed.

 _"Kidman!_ "

The doctor heard Sebastian's shout echoe around her and at once understood that the horrible screech was actually the sound of the bus that she was watching fall down the building through her unfocused and rotating vision.

"Damn…" Sofia grunted, forcing herself to sit up just in time to see Sebastian and Joseph's blurry figures stumble their way to that enormous hole in the wall in front of them. "Juli? Is she... alright?"

Sebastian didn't hear the doctor but his words, meant for Joseph's ears, answered her question all the same. "We won't know unless we get down there…"

Joseph nodded his head in agreement and turned around, finally taking notice of Sofia, still struggling to stand up on her own two feet. Her vision had focused again and that was all the incentive the doctor needed to tell herself it was time for her to start moving.

"Take it easy." The bespectacled man spoke as he ran to doctor's side and helped her get up. "That was a violent crash. Maybe you should take a moment."

"I'm alright." Sofia reassured as she slowly removed her weight from the detective's frame until she was standing on her own again and without her knees giving up on her. "It's Juli we need to worry about. She might be stuck under that bus or something. We need to reach her fast."

"She's right." Sebastian agreed. "We need to move."

Joseph spared the doctor one last concerned glance but nodded his acquiescence nonetheless. With that, the three of them moved deeper into the apartment.

* * *

 

"Come!" Sebastian called from below. "I think it's safe."

Sofia stared down at the elevator shaft between her and the detective with apprehension. There was a metal ladder attached to the wall closest to her that went down to the ceiling of the elevator box that Sebastian had crossed to reach the other side. The doctor had to wonder if the metal box would truly be able to bear her weight once she went down those steps. There was no metal cable keeping it in place, only the friction of its frame against the shaft's narrow walls.

_You can do it. If it was able to support Sebastian's weight, it should support yours too._

Steeling her nerves, she took a deep breath and began to climb down the ladder, but, as soon as one of her feet touched the ceiling of the elevator, the metal box trembled, making the woman pull her foot back and return it to one of the stair's steps.

And it was just in time.

Sofia clenched her eyes shut and tightened her hold on the stairs as she heard the elevator give out and fall down the shaft at a nerve-wrecking speed.

"Fuck! Are you alright, Sofia?" Sebastian asked from below her.

"Yes." The doctor answered as she counted to ten inside her head to calm her nerves. "Just a little startled. I'll climb back u-!"

A scream broke free from the woman's mouth, ending her sentence for her as the ladder followed the elevator's example and gave out on her. Sofia held onto the stairs' metal bars as tight as she could and her stomach performed a very unpleasant flip-flop inside her abdomen as she felt herself free-falling to her death.

Just when she thought it would all end, the doctor felt her body halt suddenly. The two ends of the ladder that had broken free hit opposite walls of the elevator shaft, successfully halting Sofia's descent into it. Her feet slipped out of the steps so she was being held only by her own hands, which were sweating profusely and quickly starting to lose its grip on the metal bar.

" **SOFIA!"** Sebastian and Joseph called out, but only the later, who could actually see her, continued. "Boost yourself forward and let go! There's a floor level right in front of you!"

Sofia opened her scared eyes and immediately found the carpeted floor of the site Joseph was warning her about, taunting her through half-opened elevator doors.

But it was still some metres down. There was no way the doctor could reach it and she was about to yell just that to Joseph, but the ladder trembled beneath her hands, making the words catch in her throat.

"Do it! Quick!"

The doctor finally set into motion, pushing her body back and then forwards. She repeated the motion a few times and felt her grip slip completely from the metal bar. For a second thought she'd fall to her death.

Instead she found herself on her hands and knees on a cold floor, sweating and breathing hard as her whole body trembled.

**"Sofia!"**

"I'-I'm alive!" The doctor yelled, reassuring both detectives. Then, in a much lower voice, she reassured herself. "I'm alive…"

"Stay put!" Sebastian ordered. "Joseph and I are going to get you!"

"Alright!" The doctor replied, staring at bloody footprints that marred the carpet all around her; she had a bad feeling about her situation.

"Please hurry…"

* * *

 

Sofia would've very much liked to sit still as she waited for the detectives to find her but she knew things didn't work like that inside STEM. She had to keep moving if she expected to survive, even when there were no Haunted to be seen and things appeared under control.

_Especially when everything seems under control. These moments of calm are just warnings that something bigger is coming._

So, with the vivid image of a blood-stained chain in mind, the doctor bit her lips and started to explore the floor.

From a first glance, the doctor understood she was standing at the living room of an apartment. It was wide and the few light bulbs that still worked provided very little light, but she could see herself reflected on the blood-stained TV across the room and it almost made the woman jump in fright at just how decadent the image was.

Her clothes were missing many areas of fabric – the sleeves she had torn herself, but there were many holes in her blouse and pants she hadn't even noticed until now –, her hair was a mess of tangles and dried blood, which covered parts of her face as well. Her eyes were filled to the brim with fear and her lower lip was caught between her teeth, seemed to have frozen in that nervous tick of hers she tried so hard to supress.

"I don't even look like myself anymore…" The doctor breathed out, unconsciously raising her hand to her eye-level. There was dirt and blood beneath her nails.

"You look beautiful."

Sofia jumped in the air and almost tripped over her own feet as she reflexively moved away from the familiar voice, but a cold hand materialized from the shadows and took hold of her biceps, keeping her in place.

"Why do you insist on pulling away from me? By now you should've realized that's not good for you."

The doctor stared up at the silver irises in front of her and made a conscious effort not to bite her lips in agitation.

Ruvik noticed her effort and it made him smirk.

"You can't hide anything from me." The man spoke, using his grip over the woman's arm to pull her closer. "You should've also realized this as well, _my love_."

Something snapped inside Sofia at Ruvik's condescending tone and she found it in herself to glare defiantly at the man as venomous words shot out of her mouth without her even realizing it.

"The only thing I've realized is that I shouldn't have trusted you. _Ever_."

Sofia felt Ruvik's nails dig in her skin as he tried so very hard to control himself and not break the bone beneath her flesh.

"I understand you're mad at me for not holding up my end of our deal, so I'll let that one pass. But do watch your mouth, Sofia. You're trying my patience."

Both glared at each other for seconds on a row before Sofia turned her face away.

"I'm not lying." The woman continued in a small voice. "Allowing myself to love you was the biggest mistake I ever made. I gave you everything I could give. And for what?" Suddenly, the woman wiped her head back to glare at Ruvik once again, with renewed anger in her now tear-filled eyes. Her voice wasn't so small anymore. "For you to throw it back on my face by using my most precious patient as a guinea pig for your inhuman experiments? For you to turn me into one of the many abominations that wander this hell?! For you to consider erasing my brain and using my body as a vessel to your comatose sister?! For you to create a monster whose only drive is to kill me?!"

The anger inside Ruvik's irises gave place to shock at Sofia's outburst and, for the moment at least, he was no longer the god of his world, with the power to control and destroy everyone and everything. He was a man – Ruben Victoriano – watching the woman he loved break down in front of him and take with her the shreds of their relationship he had been trying oh-so hard to hold on to.

"Stop calling me _your love_ because if you loved me you would've never hurt me the way you did! _I_ would never have done to you what you did to me! Until your dying breath, I did all I could to protect you from Mobius without receiving anything in return! And yet from the moment I got here all you've given me was pain, fear and grief, but you still act as if we're in this together; as if all of this torture you're putting me through is a well-deserved slap on the wrist! It is not, _Ruvik!_ This is you torturing me, making me pay for sins that aren't mine to pay, and I'm not getting over this! _We_ are not getting over this!"

Sofia's tear-stained face was filled with such pain and anger that it made Ruben's heart tighten inside Ruvik's chest.

"I'm done blaming myself for what happened to you. I'm done using my love for you to relativize your mistakes. I have my share of guilt in all of this, but _you_ are the one who created this hell! _You_ are the one who made STEM possible and I hate you for it! **I HATE YO-**!"

Pain exploded on the left side of Sofia's face and suddenly she found herself laying on the floor with the metallic taste of her blood in her mouth.

"This is enough, Sofia." Ruvik's cold voice echoed in her ears. "You have no right to complain of what I do. This world – and everything in it, including you – is mine to do with as I please. I am a god here, and I will not be defied."

The doctor sat up and spat blood on the floor before raising her eyes to glare at Ruvik.

"I can see you need some time to calm down and get some perspective of what is your situation here." The man continued, staring down at her with knife-sharp eyes. "Once you do, you'll give more value to my attentions. You'll crawl back to me soon enough."

Before Sofia could protest, Ruvik turned his back to her and disappeared from her vision in a dark glitch, leaving her alone to pick herself from the floor.

Biting on her lower lip, she turned her back to the elevator's entrance and started to march across the living room, towards the open door that led to the hallway.

Just when she reached the other end of the room, the booming sound of something heavy falling down behind her reached her ears, making the doctor spin around in alert.

Adrenalin was pushed into her bloodstream and her heart started to work double-pace when she found the Chain Man kneeling on the floor, across the room from her. He was covered in fresh blood from head to toe. His left grey eye - the one she had pierced in their last encounter - was missing but that didn't make his glare any less intimidating. If anything, the black hole that replaced his grey eye made him look even more menacing.

The man smiled at her with his rotten teeth and Sofia took a step back in fear.

" _Why do you insist on pulling away from me?"_

The doctor's eyes widened and her body froze all over at the blood-curling voice that assaulted her ears. It was rough and high-pitched at the same time, cruel and longing, as if the monster was about to reach ecstasy only by imagining how tightly the collar of his chain would fit around her neck.

But what frightened Sofia the most was the fact that the creature had repeated Ruvik's words from moments before.

_He brought him to me._

Before she knew what she was doing, Sofia found herself running away from the Chain Man. She sprinted through empty rooms and not-so-empty ones, ducking and dodging the Haunted that appeared in front of her the best she could, sometimes managing to avoid them altogether and sometimes slamming her shoulder against them to make way for herself.

As she left the Haunted behind her, she could hear the sickening sound of their skulls and bones being crushed by the Chain Man as he pursued her, destroying anything that stood in his way.

" **I made this world."** Sofia heard Ruvik's voice echo around her though she didn't see him anywhere. **"You cannot escape me."**

Sofia thought she saw paintings of Ruvik's face on the walls around her but she didn't stop to check; not when the sound of the Chain Man's steps after her were growing closer and closer.

" **I am in control. I can do as I please."**

Suddenly Sofia found herself pushing her back against the metal door of an emergency exit, using her weight to keep it shut as she stared at the wreckage of what once was a stairwell and tried to figure out where she should go next. She could see the floor below her, but it was about three metres away, and filled with burning pieces of wood. On the wall in front of her, one of Ruvik's paintings continued to talk to her.

" **Accept this. Accept** _ **me**_ **. That's all you need to do."**

The door behind Sofia pushed forward, slamming painfully on her back as the Chain Man used his weight to try and force it open. The woman managed to keep the creature at bay, but she knew that just a few more pushes and he'd manage to force his way through.

" **Say you're mine and I'll keep you safe."**

Sofia glared at the painting and bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. She breathed through her nose and counted down from 3.

Then she jumped into the blazes below.

* * *

 

She was done for.

Large, blood-covered hands held her in place as she stared at the barrel of her own gun pointing at her. She called Leslie's name and pleaded for him not to do it, but the boy's blue eyes remained cold as ice. It was Ruvik staring at her and she knew it.

Kidman knew that this was it.

" **LESLIE! STOP!"**

Suddenly the boy's eyes lost their cold calm and became wide and scared again. Juli looked beyond Leslie, from where the voice had come from and found Sofia standing behind the boy on shaky legs, looking at Leslie with wide and tear-filled eyes.

"Please, Leslie! You have to fight him!"

A pained moan left the boy's lips and he raised his free hand to his head, cradling it as if in pain. The boy was trembling all over…

But with a sudden burst of determination he took hold of the gun with both of his hands and fired it.

Juli shut her eyes out of reflex even though she saw in his blue eyes that the boy wasn't aiming for her but at the painting behind her. She heard the fake Ruvik scream as it burned to ashes and the hands finally let go of her.

The detective quickly picked herself off the ground and walked towards Leslie, who was now cradled in Sofia's arms. The doctor was whispering soothing words into the boy's ear as she petted the boy's hair clumsily with right her hand.

Juli's eyes widened at the contrast between the boy's pale hair and the woman's hand. The appendage was red with blood and exposed muscle, burned to the flesh just like the rest of her forearm.

"Sofia, your hand-"

"Don't worry about it." The doctor spoke. Her voice was firm and clear, but it showed just how tired and sick of everything she was. "It's a third degree burn so it was deep enough to destroy some of my nerves and my pain-receptors. It doesn't hurt at all."

Kidman could only nod at the explanation, morbidly fascinated that such a serious injury didn't bring any pain.

"Here." Sofia continued, pulling slight away from Leslie as she raised her left hand to offer the junior detective back her gun. "We should get moving."

Kidman took the gun from Sofia, but before she could voice her agreement, Leslie grabbed the doctor's uninjured hand and started to pull her towards the exit.

"Not safe. Hurry. This way."

The junior detective followed doctor and patient through the exit, knowing what it was that she had to do.

And knowing that Sofia's presence would make it so much harder for her.

* * *

 

"Leslie can go home? Can take the train all the way home?"

Sofia felt her heart clench at the boy's words and exchanged a look with Kidman from over the boy's head as they walked into a children's park. The doctor was about to reassure the boy that this was exactly what they were trying to do – and in a metaphorical way, it was – but Kidman beat her to it.

"No Leslie. Not today."

Sofia's eyes narrowed at the junior detective's negative response and unconsciously her grip around Leslie's hand tightened.

"You'll… protect me?" The boy asked, giving Kidman a hopeful and trusting smile.

"Yes. That's my job."

Sofia's eyes narrowed even more. "Your _job_?"

At last, Kidman moved her eyes from Leslie to the doctor and the regret and remorse the later saw in those orbs made her blood run cold.

"Kidman, what do you-"

To the doctor's dismay, Leslie pulled away from her and moved deeper into the playground.

"Good, good, good. When I get home, they'll be-"

Sofia was about to call out the boy's name, demand that he returned to her at once. But the cold metal of Kidman's gun slamming on the back of her head and knocking her unconscious prevented her from it.

"- _surprised_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is it for now. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. :)
> 
> Hopefully, I won't leave you in this cliffhanger for too long. =.=
> 
> Also, can you believe there are only 3-4 chapters left of this? I'm still shocked that we got so far with this work in less than ann year. Especially since, when I first started this, I wasn't sure if I'd follow through with the game plot or just sacrifice Sofia to STEM before it. XDXD
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid


	31. Chapter 31: Closer To The Edge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those who follow my HxH fic know already but for those who don't read TFWiM, let me say just this before we begin: This year, I've began my two year period of interships in college so I'm having a bit of trouble finding time to write and because of that the chapters are taking longer to come out. But fear not that I'll end this (in a couple of chapters) ;D
> 
> Now, enjoy!

_To the doctor's dismay, Leslie pulled away from her and moved deeper into the playground._

_"Good, good, good. When I get home, they'll be-"_

_Sofia was about to call out the boy's name, demand that he returned to her at once. But the cold metal of Kidman's gun slamming on the back of her head and knocking her unconscious prevented her from it._

_"-surprised."_

* * *

Sofia wasn't surprised when she woke up inside her Hub, after all she had received a lot of damage inside STEM and that usually preceded a recovery visit to her safe haven. However, she was _desperate_ to get out of there as soon as possible.

_Leslie! Oh Leslie, please be alive!_

Despite her injuries, the doctor didn't waste any time in jumping to her feet as soon as she opened her eyes. She didn't even take notice of which of the rooms in her parents' home she had woken into this time and only marched in a straight line to the kitchen's backdoor.

She raised her right hand to the doorknob, only then remembering the ugly third degree burns that covered it as well as most of her forearm, and paused for a moment. Her fingers were starting to heal in a wrong manner, glued to one another, and her palm was contracting, deforming her hand into a spoon-like appendage.

"You're not going anywhere looking like that. Come here."

Sofia's whole body tensed and she felt her heart skip a beat at the voice coming from behind her. It was not Tatiana's voice.

"Don't make me repeat myself, Sofia. Come."

Slowly, the woman turned around. Her eyes were wide, her face was pale and, as soon as the vision before her confirmed what her ears had accused, she started to chew on her bottom lip.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to bite your lips? It's unbecoming, Sofia. Makes you look insecure of yourself and no child of mine is allowed to be anything but 100% confident."

Sofia could only nod, forcing herself to stop biting her lips, keeping them pursed instead as she stared at the apparition of her mother in front of her. The woman was just as she remembered; imposingly confident, serious and almost oppressive with her no-nonsense attitude. She stared down at her with piercing green eyes that held Sofia captive as no one else could. Dona Prieto's representation inside STEM seemed every bit the absolutist queen she had been during Sofia's life.

"Sit down at the table." She commanded. "I'll fix that hand."

Sofia obeyed the order as soon as it was issued; her body moved quickly to the table and she took her seat. Meanwhile her mother fetched a bottle of alcohol and what appeared to be a surgical kit from one of the kitchen's cupboards. She laid it all on the table and then went back for local antibiotics, gauze and other dressings for her wound.

Sofia couldn't help but wonder if she could find all of those supplies in Dona Prieto's real home. Knowing her parents and their need to always be prepared and in control of situations, it wasn't impossible.

"Your father won't be happy when he hears about this." Dona Prieto stated as she sat down the table, put on some silicone gloves and prepared he tools she'd use. "It was reckless of you to hurt your hand like that. How will you perform surgeries from now on? We expected more of you, Sofia."

The younger woman lowered her gaze and nodded, accepting the blame and the disappointed as she had been raised to. Only when her mother started to clean and remove the necrotic the tissues from her hand and forearm, did Sofia raise her eyes again to watch the procedure with a humble silence and morbid admiration. The way her mother's hands moved was remarkably precise and fast.

She didn't expect any less.

* * *

Sofia bit her lip as stared at her bandaged hand and wondered if the wounds beneath the dressing would follow her back to reality once she found a way to finally disconnect herself from STEM and Ruvik.

_**If** _ _I find a way._

"Stop chewing on your lips." Dona chastised, pinching one of her cheeks with enough force to hurt. "Do you want me to put pepper on them like last time?"

"No. I'll stop."

"And don't purse them either. It's just as unbecoming."

"Yes, mother."

"Honestly…" Dona sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in aggravation. "I hope your brother turns out better than this."

Sofia felt her whole body tense at those words. She was doing all she could to push Julian's existence from her mind since she laid eyes on her mother's apparition. She didn't want STEM to taint the baby's image. If even she hadn't been allowed to meet him yet, why should this torture mechanism had any access to him?

"I must go." The young doctor stated in the firm voice she'd frequently use whenever talking to anyone other than her parents.

But, just as soon as she stood up from her chair, her mother's hand closed around one of her biceps, digging the neatly trimmed nails on her flesh to the point of drawing blood. The apparition used that grip to pull Sofia to her so their faces were practically glued to each other.

"Of course. You got what you wanted so it's high time you left, like the ungrateful bitch you are."

Sofia stared at her mother's green eyes with her own scared ones, at loss at how to react to this.

"If only you had listened to us, _followed_ us… you wouldn't be here. You could've achieved greatness, Sofia. But you gave it all up. And for what? A retarded man whose worth is limited to the vessel of flesh that nourishes his useless brain."

Suddenly, the young doctor's wide eyes narrowed to angry slits and she pulled back from the apparition's grip with all her strength, not minding the slicing of nails on her skin as she released herself. Then, not about to lose her momentum, she slapped that face that was so much like her mother's.

"How could you be so low?" Sofia snarled. "You disgust me."

The image of Dona Prieto started to chuckle in a feminine timbre that gradually dropped a couple of octaves. As the voice of the creature became low and rough, its body morphed as well; black hair fell to the floor as the flawless extension of olive skin became pale and blemished with hypertrophic scars of past fire injuries.

As if to imitate its master, the room started to change and fall into decay. The wall paper peeled off and the smell of rotten meat suddenly took over the doctor's surroundings. The kitchen sink exploded and a jet of dark and thick blood started to gush from it, going all the way up to the ceiling and then coming down in fat drops that tainted Sofia's face, hair and body.

Sofia pursed her lips and fought back the urge to take a step back from the monster taking shape in front of her. Her heart was pounding and the blood had run cold in her veins, but she would be damned if she gave him the satisfaction.

"What do you want from me, _Ruvik_?"

The man stopped laughing only to give her a large, predatory smile.

"You were completely unable to say no to your mother until I brought your dear brother and Leslie into play." Ruvik spoke, completely ignoring her question. "You're a caring person; you need to defend the ones who can't stand up for themselves. That's why you care so much for the man and do all in your power to defy me. It'll be truly interesting to see how you'll cope with what's about to happen, with what I'm going to do with your beloved _Leslie Withers."_

The woman narrowed her eyes even further in distrust. "And just what exactly is about to happen? Answer me! What do you want with Leslie?!"

Ruvik once again ignored her question, disappearing in a dark glitch.

Sofia felt the first letter of a foul word leave her lips but didn't manage to actually let the whole thing out for Ruvik materialized right in front of her, with his face glued to hers.

"You'll understand when we get out."

With that, he slammed his mouth over hers in a violent kiss and then, finally, disappeared.

Sofia's heart sped up as her brain worked double pace to try and make sense of Ruvik's words and what they implied.

_What does Leslie has to do with anything? Is this related to Kidman's attempt at Leslie's life? It has to be. Which means Mobius is somehow involved in all of this. And what did he mean by_ _**we** getting out_ _? Ruvik has no physical body, he can't-_

When the pieces fell into place, Sofia felt the blood drain from her face as a whole new level of fear and despair clawed at her heart.

"Oh god…"

She stood unmoving for moments, stunned and not knowing how to react to what she had just understood.

" _A retarded man whose worth is limited to the vessel of flesh that nourishes his useless brain."_

_-vessel of flesh that nourishes his useless brain-_

_-vessel of flesh-_

_-_ _**vessel** _ _-_

Then, as if struck by lightning, she started to move. Biting her lower lip with enough force to draw blood, the doctor ran to the kitchen back door and pulled it open to reveal the most absolute darkness to her eyes.

With Leslie in mind, she jumped into that darkness without a moment of hesitation.

_I won't let you have him. None of you._

* * *

Sofia took a big gulp of air when her head broke through the surface of the deep pool of partially coagulated blood and body parts she had been transported into. The desired oxygen that came to her lungs came with some of those remains and the doctor reflexively vomited right then and there, contributing to the putrid smell that rose from the pool of gore and infested every corner of the room as some sort of miasma.

Holding back the urge to vomit again, the doctor swam to the iron stairs at the edge of the pool and climbed them with urgency as her eyes tried to locate any possible threats. No Haunted were around her at the time, but the environment didn't need their contribution to make her apprehensive.

She was in the underground of Beacon.

If in real life, the sewers of Beacon were cold and damp, making for a most ideal scenario for a horror movie, inside STEM they surpassed any person's expectations.

The smell of rot and death was enough to invade Sofia's nostrils without her even breathing in, the walls were tainted with crimson blood and the lights were blinking so rapidly that the doctor felt they were actively trying to enforce a seizure upon her.

Covered in gore as she was, the doctor marched through the sewer's corridors, not without stopping by an emergency box and taking the fire axe from it to see her through what was about to happen, whatever it was. She noted that, despite not hurting or affecting her movements in any way, her right hand was still covered by the bandages Ruvik had tied around the appendage.

But this was not the time to think about that, so she quickly pushed the observation to the back of her mind and continued moving.

As she made her way through the cold and narrow passages, whispers started to crawl into Sofia's ears.

Conversations she had with Ruvik and the Director, scoldings from her mother and father. Secrets she had confided in Tatiana. Her patients' fears and afflictions. Charles' heavy breathing when he tried to throttle her… Leslie's desperate cries of agony as he was connected to STEM and put through hell on far too many occasions.

It all prompted Sofia to bite on her bottom lip with enough strength to draw yet a new stream of fresh blood, but its rich crimson colour was promptly overpowered by the pitch black tone that belonged to the decaying fluids covering her from head to toe.

And it was only thanks to that throbbing pain that Sofia managed to keep herself grounded and focused on what was happening around her in order to keep going instead of giving in to the urge to curl into herself and bawl like a baby until someone appeared to save her. There would be no saving for her in this place; only Ruvik could offer her some sort of safe harbour inside STEM. And what he had to give, she didn't want.

All she wanted at the moment was Leslie. She needed to find him, keep him safe. He had nothing to do with any of this. He was innocent and sweet, a child both in mind and heart and she couldn't allow Ruvik to do as he pleased with him.

_He wants to possess his body, corrupt and destroy him inside out. But I won't allow it. I'll stop you, Ruvik-_

Sofia broke in a run then, passing through the remaining corridors at high speed and running up the many flights of stairs that allowed her into the staff area of the ground floor inside Beacon Mental Hospital. Without hesitation, she slammed open the doors that would reveal her the carnage in the waiting room – her very first taste of this nightmare.

_-Or I'll die trying._

* * *

Sofia set foot inside the waiting room with her bottom lip caught between her teeth and her hands tight around the axe's haft. It was just as she remembered; cold, silent and full of blood.

With a calmness she didn't think she would ever be capable of again, the doctor walked through the room, roaming every centimetre of it with her gaze and taking in the faces of her deceased co-workers and patients with resigned guilt.

She wondered if they'd still be dead if she had never set foot inside Beacon and, for a moment filled with the most absolute despair, believed full-heartedly that it was all her fault.

_No. Stop it. It's Ruvik's fault. There is no denying you played a part in all of it, but you did your best to save them. Without you here the outcome would most likely be the same._

Sofia didn't know what bothered her the most: the established fact that she had these people's blood on her hands, or the idea that they were all doomed to die by Ruvik's hand with or without her presence in their lives.

The woman's morbid thoughts were interrupted by the opening of the front doors. Out of reflex she searched for cover, quickly hiding herself behind one of the wooden benches to wait and observe her enemy before acting.

It was with great surprise and greater relief she saw Leslie stumble into the room, holding his head with both hands and moaning in pain.

Without a second thought, Sofia abandoned her cover and ran to the boy. He didn't seem to notice though; his pain seemed too much for him to focus on anything else.

"Leslie…" Sofia called softly, reaching out to the boy with her left hand but not daring to let go of the axe in her right one. "It'll be alright. I'll take care of you. Just stay wit-"

" **AHHHHHHH!"**

The boy's high-pitched voice rose to an inhuman howl as his spine and neck extended violently, forming a wide and spastic arch that Sofia had only seem once before in her life, in a patient with opisthotonus due to severe tetanus. It was an ugly sight that made the doctor's heart clench at the pain Leslie must've been feeling to enter that unnatural position, and the doctor couldn't help but let go of her weapon and embrace the boy in an attempt at comforting him.

Her attempt was futile and Leslie, no longer with full control of his body, pushed her away violently before dashing to the door closest to him.

"LESLIE!"

With a cry of the boy's name, Sofia retrieved her axe from the floor and ran after him. He had to stay with her; it was the safest place for him to be, now more than ever. With Kidman wanting to kill him and Ruvik intending to possess his body, she was the only one who'd protect him from STEM.

 _Sebastian._ Sofia thought of the detective, remembering how his eyes were warm and worried when they settled on Leslie inside that ambulance they shared seemingly so long ago. _He'd help us._

That thought ended with the loud sound of a door slamming on the wall. Leslie had just entered the playroom a couple of meters in front of her.

Sofia felt dread hit in her chest like a ton of bricks and halted her steps just before entering the room.

Through the open door she could see Leslie's figure standing in the centre of the room; beneath blinking lights, amongst colourful beanbags and children's toys, and stepping on the blood that pooled around the corpses of two nurses with his bare feet. The boy had his back to her but she felt he knew exactly where she was. He seemed to have calmed completely; his body's movements were limited to a soft rocking over the balls of his feet and his screaming had been replaced by a low and repetitive whispering that only barely reached the doctor's ears.

" _He's here. He's here. He's here. He's here…"_

The woman felt her body start to shake and took some moments for herself before entering the room. There was no hurry; she could feel it in her gut that whatever was about to happen inside the playroom would wait for her.

It was _meant_ for her.

Sofia breathed in deep through her nose as she chewed on her bottom lip, willing her body to stop shaking as her hands tightened their grip around the fire-axe's haft.

She was terrified but there was no way around it. If she wanted to save Leslie, she'd have to face what Ruvik had planned for her.

_The Chain Man._

With her heart beating painfully inside her ribcage and feeling the blood rush through her veins with alarming speed, Sofia marched inside the playroom, feeling every bit the prey the Chain Man saw her as.

Once inside, the door closed behind her, immersing both of them in a shadowy atmosphere that was made even grimmer by the irregular flashes of light that came from the blinking ceiling lamps.

But it were those blinking lights that allowed Sofia to watch in horror as Leslie's body changed. With tears in her eyes, she observed the lean frame grow slightly taller and his hair slightly darker. The creature – _not Leslie. Ruvik has him and I need to find him_ – straightened its posture and arms, allowing a familiar chain to unravel from his left hand and fall to the floor with a dry thump.

As the Chain Man slowly turned around, revealing his blood stained face to Sofia, he smiled, showing his rotten and chipped teeth with unrestrained anticipation.

" _You're mine now. To do with as I please."_

Hearing Ruvik's words coming from that monster once again left a bitter taste in Sofia's mouth and, without her even realizing it, some of her fear was replaced by white hot anger.

She adjusted her hold on the axe and glared.

"Then come and get me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sofia x The Proprietor/Chain Man! To be continued on the next chapter... ;)
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed this and until next time!
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid
> 
> PS: yes, the title comes from the song with the same name by "30 Seconds to Mars"


	32. Chapter 32: Final Boss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I'm still alive!!!! =.=
> 
> Sorry for the delay (as usual) but time has been short and inspiration even shorter. I've finished watching 'Sherlock' not too long ago and it's consuming my every waking thought! T.T
> 
> I'm actually debating if I should write a Molliarty fic for the series after I'm done here. =.=
> 
> But, more important than all that: THANK YOU to all who reviewed! Really, whenever I felt dispirited with this I'd go and re-read your comments to try and get my writing on. You're all amazing! *.*
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this chapter! :)

_The playroom's blinking lights that allowed Sofia to watch in horror as Leslie's body changed. With tears in her eyes, she observed the lean frame grow slightly taller and his hair slightly darker. The creature – not Leslie. Ruvik has him and I need to find him – straightened its posture and arms, allowing a familiar chain to unravel from his left hand and fall to the floor with a dry thump._

_As the Chain Man slowly turned around, revealing his blood stained face to Sofia, he smiled, showing his rotten and chipped teeth with unrestrained anticipation._

_"You're mine now. To do with as I please."_

_Hearing Ruvik's words coming from that monster once again left a bitter taste in Sofia's mouth and, without her even realizing it, some of her fear was replaced by white hot anger._

_She adjusted her hold on the axe and glared._

_"Then come and get me."_

* * *

Ruvik's Eye was in the ceiling of the macabre Playroom, observing with demented fascination as Sofia slowly stalked towards The Proprietor with that angry determination emanating from her, the one that was once so familiar to his living self. She moved with the same poise she'd hold whenever they argued or outright fought; once to the point of physical abuse from both parts.

The Eye blinked, wondering if maybe, just maybe, Sofia would be able to deal with the threat all on her own. Most probably not, and he was ready to interfere and save her at the last minute. This was all just a play, nothing real.

Still, this would make for a most interesting showdown.

* * *

It was sheer determination and spite that had Sofia facing the Chain Man on an one-on-one combat. She knew she was weaker than him and yet she marched into the playroom without doubts that she would thrust the axe in her hands inside the creature's skull.

The Chain Man was smiling, showing his rotten teeth without reservation as he rotated his chain in the air, filling the playroom with a half-whistling half-buzzing sound that chilled the doctor to the bones. He wasn't stalking towards her, which was a first, but his stare alone was enough to make Sofia feel less like a challenger and more like a trapped mouse.

_Calm down. Breath in. Observe him and take your chance when it comes. He'll make a mistake, leave himself open._

The doctor started to circle the Chain Man, wide eyes absorbing every detail about his figure, from his bare feet to his double coloured hair, from his slouching posture to his wide stance and from his right hand spinning the chain to his left one releasing the red rose and allowing it to fall softly on the floor.

Sofia tensed as she watched the flower float down; instinct was screaming at her that this was it.

Sure enough, as soon as the red petals hit the ground the Chain Man whipped his head in her direction and sprinted towards her.

The doctor startled and barely managed to take a step to the side and dodge the attack. She felt the air shift where the monster passed by her and held the axe tighter in her hands. She thought about attacking the Chain Man then but held herself back; she knew his recovery time was too quick for her blow to be successful. This was not her opportunity.

She chose then to pull back and put some extra steps of distance between herself and the Chain Man.

But that decision failed when she stepped on a blood-soaked plastic ball and fell on her back, bruising her elbows when trying to cushion her fall. She heard the Chain Man raise his weapon before she saw him standing in front of her with it held above his head with both hands and she immediately rolled to the side and pushed herself to her feet, losing the axe in the process. As soon as she did so, Sofia had to jump back to avoid a horizontal blow from the chain that was immediately followed by another and then another, keeping the unarmed doctor retreating further and further until she was but three steps from slamming her back on a wall.

Thinking fast, Sofia jumped forwards and to the right, successfully putting herself behind the Chain Man. Without giving the monster time to turn, she grabbed one of the bean bags that were once bright and colourful but now were tainted with brownish, aged blood and charged against his back, managing to ruin his balance and throw him down.

The Chain Man growled and fell forwards to the floor, allowing Sofia the chance to run back and retrieve her axe. In the middle of the way, she spotted a couple of non-toxic paint that some patients used in finger-painting and grabbed the largest container.

Armed again, the doctor quickly turned to face the monster, finding him already marching towards her with hellfire burning in his one blue eye.

Suddenly, the scientific part of Sofia's brain shut down completely and instinct took over.

She made a swinging movement with her arm, throwing the paint at the Chain Man's eye. The creature let out a startled roar and stumbled back for a moment but instead of stopping its walk towards Sofia due to his lack of sight, he hastened it, starting a mad dash in her general direction. The doctor quickstepped out of the way, letting the Chain Man run face-first into the first surface in front of him, that just happened to be the playroom's double doors, and fall down.

That was her opportunity and Sofia knew it.

The monster had barely fallen to the ground and the woman was standing over him, descending blow after blow upon his chest, neck and face. Blood soaked the blade of her axe and spattered her face gruesomely but Sofia didn't stop; she was high on adrenalin and her survival instincts were yelling at her that this was the time to _fight_.

There was no counting of how many times Sofia axed the Chain Man before the adrenalin left her bloodstream and she was too exhausted to move.

When that happened, she found herself kneeling over the monster's still form, panting and sweating as she stared down at the bloodied mess that was his face with the axe being held loosely in her right hand.

_It's over._

That one miraculous and reassuring thought was all it took to make the woman smile for what felt the first time in her life, allowing the axe to drop from her hands. Her tormentor was dead at last. Now it was all a matter of finding Leslie and protecting him until she found a way to deactivate STEM, for good. With that in mind, Sofia stood up on shaky legs, ready to open the door and walk out of the room.

However, to her utmost surprise and despair, as soon as she laid her hand on the doorknob the Chain Man started to groan and twitch on the floor.

Wide eyed, she stared down at him from over her shoulder and found him struggling to roll to the side and stand up.

_No… This can't be happening. Please, someone say this isn't happening!_

Sofia didn't wait to see if anyone would answer her plea and immediately turned the doorknob to push the door open and escape the room. However she found the doors safely locked and not moving a centimetre even she threw her whole bodyweight against them, desperate to force them open.

While she tried to find a way out of the room, the Chain Man had already risen to his knees and was trying to stand up on his two feet. The doctor noticed this and delivered a swift kick to his back, pushing him back to the floor and giving her time to put some distance between them. She wanted to retrieve her axe but the Chain Man had been faster than her; while standing up the first time he had taken hold of her weapon in his left hand, while his right one still held on tightly to his chain, leaving her no choice but to run to the opposite side of the room completely unarmed.

Sofia watched the monster stand up once more, painstakingly slowly. But, no matter how sluggish his movements were, her brain couldn't come up with a plan to face him. She had completely shattered his skull and yet he stood up.

_He just doesn't die._

The doctor felt all her drive and determination rot within her, making her body go limp against the wall and simply slid down to the floor. She couldn't fight the Chain Man anymore. She had defeated him, utterly and completely, and yet he was still standing up.

 _You're cheating, Ruvik_. _This isn't fair._

The monster had finally risen to his feet and, although his face was now nothing more than a mess of flesh and pieces of bone, Sofia knew he was staring at her with deep satisfaction. He made a gurgle sound and took a step in her direction, while she watched him with wide, teary eyes; her body completely still.

_This is it. This is how I die. Oh, Leslie... please forgive me._

Suddenly, the doors to the playroom slammed open with astounding force, making both tormentor and victim turn their attention to the entrance.

A scream caught in her throat and Sofia felt her despair reach a new level at finding yet another monster standing in front of her. It was masculine, tall and strong, with an enormous meat tenderizer in his left hand, a sac full of nails and god knows what in his left. To her absolute horror the monster had a blood-stained metal safe for his head.

The scream that had been stuck in her throat finally found its way as the new, enormous monster descended his tenderizer on the Chain Man's mauled face, making the lesser monster fall to the floor like a pile of bricks. Unsatisfied with his work, the Safe-headed monster continued to deliver blow after blow upon the unmoving creature - much as she had done only moments ago -, until the Chain Man's head, shoulders and chest were nothing more than a scarlet pile of flesh, with white pieces of bones and strands of hair mixed in.

Sofia watched the carnage with horrified eyes, all resemblance of relief that she could've felt at seeing her tormentor practically pulverized replaced by fear of becoming the next victim of this new, violent monster.

Finally done with his victim, the Safe-headed monster turned his attention to the doctor curled into a corner of the room. She would be completely still if not for the trembling in her body. Fat tears were falling from her eyes and she had blood splattered on her face and neck; she was terrified.

Leaving his tenderizer encrusted in the Chain Man's remains, the Keeper started to stalk towards Sofia, slowly as if he was trying not to frighten her. The woman watched with wide eyes, trying to take deep breaths and think straight despite the fear that seemed to have her frozen in place.

She had entered the playroom ready to die but it didn't mean she wasn't afraid of death; as all the times she came close to it since entering STEM, she still felt terror. And this terror was freezing her like no other, for she felt this monster was like no other. This new foe wouldn't flee after a being stabbed or give her openings like the Chain Man had done before, and she knew it. The Keeper would do what he came to do and nothing would stop him.

Mid-way towards her, the Keeper dropped to one knee on the floor to retrieve something from the shadows. Sofia furrowed her eyebrows and bit on her lower lip, not understanding what the monster was doing and unable to see what he had grabbed from the floor, but not daring to move from her place to find out.

All the woman dared to do was press her back further into the wall behind her as the Keeper got close to her. Blood streaked down her chin from her biting on her lower lip in fear and anxiety at each step the monster took, and before she knew it, Sofia was hyperventilating.

When the Keeper kneeled in front of her, towering over her trembling form, she whimpered like a wounded animal and shut her eyes as tightly as possible.

But moments passed her by and nothing happened. There was no pain nor ending for the doctor and, finally, she dared to open fearful eyes to stare directly at the safe that served as the creature's head. She was surprised with herself for not feeling the unpleasant taste of bile and stomach acid raising in her throat and reaching her mouth; the amount of blood and viscera that ornamented the iron of his head should've been more than enough to prompt her to vomit.

Maybe the gore she had encountered in STEAM until now had been enough to leave her unfeeling to it all.

Or maybe she was too scared to feel anything beyond fear, even if it was something as physiological as nausea.

Finally, after seemingly an eternity of waiting, the Keeper started to move. Keeping the same slow rhythm as before, the monster raised his hand in front of him, until it was floating between himself and Sofia, presenting her with the object he had retried form the floor.

It was the Chain Man's red rose with its stalk still tainted scarlet by the monster's blood.

_Is he… offering me the flower?_

When the doctor made no movement to retrieve the rose, the Keeper pushed it even closer to her, until the petals were almost touching her lips, which were dripping blood due to how hard she was biting on them.

Not moving her eyes from the monster's safe-head, Sofia raised her hand to retrieve the rose, slowly as if not to startle the Keeper into violence that would be directedto her.

Satisfied with the flower now being held softly by Sofia's hands, the monster slowly rose to his feet and turned his back to her to leave the playroom, pulling his viscera-covered tenderizer from the Chain Man's remains as he made his way to the door. The doctor didn't even flinch at the squishy sound of metal tearing through flesh, only the echoing sound of the Keeper's footsteps and the slamming of the door closing one final time reached her brain at the moment.

And when the monster was out of the room and absolute silence involved her, Sofia found herself clutching the rose to her chest, feeling blood that did not belong to her streak down her palm and drop on her knee.

She ended up cutting herself on the rose's thorn and the little pain that stabbed her finger pulled her out of her stupor. As if startled by the flower in her hand, Sofia threw it to the floor in a spasmodic movement and jumped to her feet, feeling her legs tremble as soon as she set her weight on them.

_What happened in here? What was that creature?_

Feeling the adrenaline finally start to leave her bloodstream, the doctor took a deep breath to try and calm herself once again. Her brain was working a thousand miles per hour and she couldn't have that right now; she needed to focus, regain her ground and figure out what to do next.

_Leslie._

The name came to her like a flash of light, reminding her of what was truly important inside STEM.

_I need to find him._

Sofia bit her lip and lowered her eyes to the floor, inadvertently settling them on the bloody rose that the Keeper had gifted her. Just on cue, a fat drop of water the size of her head fell from the ceiling and over the flower, startling the doctor and prompting her to raise her gaze out of reflex.

There was an enormous eye staring at her with its dilated, attentive pupil. The grey colour of its iris was unmistakable.

It was Ruvik's Eye.

The longer Sofia stared at that wide, overbearing eye, the longer it stared back at her. It was as if nothing else besides them existed in STEM, her surroundings started to fade, the sound of her own breathing suddenly ceased to exist and even her own heartbeat seemed to have stopped.

It was Ruvik's voice calling her name that brought her surroundings back into perspective.

And his voice came from within her own head.

" _Did you really think I'd let you go so easily? We're close to the end, my love. And you will watch every second of it."_

The voice inside Sofia's mind suddenly died, killed by the high-pitched, blood-curling screech she had heard seemingly so long ago, inside her office, when she was dragged into the hell that was Ruvik's STEM. It was loud and painful, making her clench her eyes shut and fall hard on her knees as she slammed her palms over her ears, trying fruitlessly to muffle that unholy, evil sound that came from within her.

The doctor felt the world shift around her as her stomach performed the unpleasant flip-flop that announced she had been transported to another region of STEM once again.

Only when the world had finally stopped turning, the sound stopped altogether, leaving a disoriented Sofia to slowly open her eyes and take in her new surroundings.

She was kneeled over a see-through glass floor, staring down at her own unmoving body on the floor below her. At first she thought she was just seeing things that didn't actually exist, as it was norm with STEM, but looking more attentively, the doctor understood that it was not the case, Her doppelganger was laying inside a very familiar tub filled with water, in which she had put many people inside before.

_That_ _**is** _ _me... I was moved to a STEM terminal. Mobius must be inside Beacon already, trying to control the damage that Kidman couldn't._

Slowly, Sofia stood up on wobbly feet, moving her gaze around the room. It was circular, with its walls covered by tall windows and a strange, enormous flesh pillar in the centre that had large vessels pumping with blood leaving its base and snaking their way across the floor.

The doctor furrowed her eyebrows and chewed on her bottom lip as she stared at the fleshy structure, trying to figure out its purpose, when metal door suddenly opened behind her.

Sofia jumped and turned around, heart already pumping fast and muscles tense and ready to act. Her brain was already conjuring images of the Chain Man, or maybe even the Keeper, but what her eyes found was someone else entirely.

"Oh God… Sebastian!"

Tears filled the woman's eyes as she almost sobbed the detective's name in relief. Without blinking an eye, she ran towards the man, throwing herself in his arms, demanding to be embraced.

Sofia couldn't help herself; she was starving for security and that man was the only source of it in this nightmare.

"Sofia…" The detective breathed out, returning the woman's embrace, feeling safer himself with the doctor in his arms. He was just as drained as her, close to the breaking point and in desperate need of comfort, safety and support, even if he did a better job at hiding it. "I'm happy you're alive."

Both tightened their hold on each other for some moments, holding onto the last of the hope and determination they could pull from the other inside STEM. When they let go, both were smiling the same relieved, strained and agonized smile.

"I think it's past time we left this place." Sofia said in a small voice. "I'm not sure how much more of it I can take."

"We will." Sebastian responded with a certainty that was fuelled by stubbornness alone. "I promise."

As if answering them, the metal door Sebastian had burst through opened once again and running through it was the key to their freedom from STEM, their ticket back to reality.

" **LESLIE**!"

If they knew how much said ticket would cost, they'd have chosen death over reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo... I hope the chapter ws worth the wait? =.=
> 
> We did have Sofia's final showdown against the Chain Man! And the Keeper made an appearance! :D I know some of you were anxious to see him ;)
> 
> And I ended this chapter with anoTHER CLIFFHANGER?! Why do I even do these things to you, my beautiful readers?! T.T
> 
> Guyyyyyyyyys, have patience with me! I'll do my best to update sooner than I did this time! I know it sucks being left hanging for weeks on a row, but bear with me guys! We're close to an end here :)
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid
> 
> PS: I made an instagram account! :) If anyone wishes to see a bit of me in my day-to-day life just send me a message and I'll tell you my username :)


	33. Chapter 33: Dust In The Wind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYYYYYYSSSSSSSS! THE EVIL WITHIN 2 IS COMING OUT! OMG OMG OMG! *.*
> 
> Serious though. 3 years with barely rumours to keep me going and they suddnely drop this bomb on me! My poor heart isn't trained to deal with shock such as this!  
> ANYWAYS, (as you've noticed) I'm super excited about the game! So much that I'm updating this chapter sooner than I had planned to! Yay!
> 
> Now, I know this one is a bit short, but it felt right ending the chapter where I did. In another cliff-hanger obviously. :D  
> Please don't kill me.

_"I think it's past time we left this place." Sofia said in a small voice. "I'm not sure how much more of it I can take."_

_"We will." Sebastian responded with a certainty that was fuelled by stubbornness alone. "I promise."_

_As if answering them, the metal door Sebastian had burst through opened once again and running through it was the key to their freedom from STEM, their ticket back to reality._

_" **LESLIE**!"_

_If they knew how much said ticket would cost, they'd have chosen death over reality._

* * *

Sofia opened her arms wide to receive the scared boy that ran into the strange room screaming for help. Leslie slammed into her with all he got; he was breathing hard, whimpering the word "help" over and over again as his body shivered despite the doctor holding him tight.

"It's alright, Leslie." Sofia whispered in the boy's ear. "I'm here. Sebastian is here too. We'll find a way to leave this place."

The staccato sound of heels hitting the floor reached Sofia's ears and she tightened even more her hold on Leslie as her narrowed eyes moved towards the door. She found Kidman running towards them, gun in hand.

Sebastian moved immediately, shielding Leslie and Sofia with his body as he pointed his gun at Kidman.

"Sebastian, get away from him." The agent spoke.

Sebastian answered by cocking his gun.

"Sebastian, Sofia… listen to me." Kidman tried again, keeping her gun pointed to the floor. "Your interests are the same as ours."

"Don't you dare!" Sofia yelled over Leslie's head, glaring daggers at Kidman. "Don't pretend you're doing the right thing, Kidman! I don't care what they told you, I'm not allowing you to harm Leslie!"

"You don't understand!" Kidman yelled back, despair in her voice and face. "I'm not doing this for _them_! I'm doing this because I must – _we_ must! You know who this kid is, Sofia. You know what Ruvik can- what he _will_ do if he has him. You know that Leslie can't be allowed to live."

"Over my dead body." Sofia stated with determination.

"Sebastian!" The agent tried again, seeing the doctor wouldn't be swayed. She was desperate. "Please, listen to me-"

"Look, I get it-" The detective cut in with his gruff voice. "-You're not some rookie detective and this is not some ordinary kid. But you killed Joseph and you shot me. So right at this moment that's enough reason for me not to trust you."

"You're a good man. That's why I… Ugh, it doesn't matter anymore." Kidman said, obviously struggling to find words that could convince Sebastian. "You should know by now what Ruvik is capable of if he has Leslie. We can't let him live."

The detective opened his mouth, ready to deny Kidman once again, but the words caught in his throat as the painfully loud shrieking he was growing increasingly used to assaulted his eardrums once again.

Both he and Sofia whimpered miserably at the agonizing sound and, without they even realizing it, their surroundings changed into a hellish setting. The room seemed to have turned into the first ring of the seventh circle of hell, leaving its occupants standing in a strange and warm yellow-reddish liquid that covered the entirety of its floor.

When the debilitating shrieking stopped assaulting her ears and allowed her to think properly again, Sofia noticed that she was now some metres away from the detective, standing right in front of the strange, gigantic brain. To her relief, she still had Leslie in her arms.

He was strangely quiet though.

"Leslie." The woman called softly, pulling the boy's chin up so he'd stare at her. "Are you alright?"

Leslie didn't as much as whimper a response, he just stared silently and fixedly at something over Sofia's shoulder with his wide blue eyes.

Before Sofia could turn around to find out what Leslie was observing so intently, a pair of heavily scared arms reached out from behind her, one by each side of her shoulders, and laid their hands on the boy's soft locks.

Sofia's eyes widened but she didn't move. Her body _couldn't_ move.

The doctor's eyes widened in despair as she ordered her arms to pull Ruvik's hands away from Leslie to no avail. Her whole body seemed to have turned into a heavy block of steel that simply refused to bulge, no matter how hard her muscles contracted or how many times her brain ordered it to move. Locked in by her own body, the doctor was made to watch Leslie's innocent eyes fill up with fear, right before slowly losing their pure blue colour in favour of a dirty, cold grey that glared at her in triumph.

_NO! MOVE DAMN IT! MOVE!_ _**PLEASE MOVE!** _

Frozen solid if not for the tears escaping from her eyes, she was made to watch the boy cease to exist. She was made to watch his whole body and essence become nothing more than a puddle and fall into the strange pool she was standing in.

Sofia's vision began to tunnel and she felt something painful clutch her heart. Her lungs were on fire and cold sweat sprouted all over her body. The last string of her self-control and sanity snapped as she regained control of her body.

She dropped to her hands and knees and _screamed_.

* * *

Sebastian didn't think he'd ever listen to a more agonizing sound than the high-pitched shriek that had announced his arrival in the hell that was STEM000.

But then Sofia opened her mouth and from it came the more pained scream he had ever heard in his life. It was the scream of mothers who had lost their children, of husbands who had their wives taken from them, of victims who watched their villains walk free and unpunished despite what they did to them.

It was the scream of people who had lost the last shred of hope in their souls, and it broke his heart.

"Sofia!"

The detective tried to run to the woman, but as soon as he took one step forward, the whole world started to shake, making him step clumsily in different directions to try and keep his balance. There was only chaos around him as the room started to fall to pieces around him.

But he still saw Ruvik's satisfied smirk as he grabbed the woman by the hair and pushed her down and into the pound beneath their feet.

* * *

Sofia didn't fully understand what happened – what _was_ happening. One minute she was feeling… _something_. It was a very strong something, the kind of something that broke a person to pieces so small they could never be glued back together, that turned someone whole into absolutely nothing and that changed the world completely.

But, for the life of her, she couldn't remember _what. It. Was_.

The doctor couldn't even begin to comprehend where she was. All she knew was that liquid warmth was surrounding her whole body, protecting her from…

_What?_

An image flashed inside her mind's eye. It was a figure, male… or was it female?

_Is it even a person?_

The doctor couldn't know. As soon as the image appeared, it was pushed away from her mind, slipping through her memories as sand through her fingers.

_**There is nothing to fear.** _

The voice that invaded her thoughts was rough, but so confident. It slowly crawled to the deepest recesses of Sofia's mind, making itself a home there and easily redecorating the place as it saw fit.

The doctor was helpless to stop the invader from doing as it pleased. She could only watch, confused and lost as she was, as memories and more memories she didn't quite remember having disappeared without allowing her as much as a glimpse at them. Sometimes, she thought she remembered a name or a pair of grey – _blue_? – eyes, but no, it was all in her head.

_**Yes. These thoughts are meaningless. They aren't worth your time. Let it all go.** _

Sofia did let them go – all of those memories and feelings – without even realizing she was doing it. And at the end she couldn't think of anything, only feel the warmth surrounding her and that nagging sensation that something was wrong, something she should be able to fix.

_Oh god!_

Suddenly something clicked in her mind and Sofia started to trash around the warm liquid surrounding her.

_It can't be…_

She heard voices moving around her, giving out orders. And there were a couple of them calling her name.

_My patient._

The doctor struggled to open her eyes, seeing two humanoid blotches standing over her. One was astoundingly tall while the other seemed to be the source of the numb feminine voice calling her name.

_Did I pass out before prepping the patient for surgery? Mom will be so angry at me..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this wraps up Sofia's nightmare inside STEM! It was time we freed the poor woman of her misery, don't you think?
> 
> Before anyone does set out to kill me for ending things here, let me just say we'll have a couple more of chapter to wrap things up before ending this fic. So take a deep breath and let's pull through this :)
> 
> Well, I hope you all enjoyed not only the chapter but the whole STEM arc! I really did my best to give you all something that you'd enjoy reading while adding new depths to the cannon characters and without following the game's characters too much. I know it can be a bit boring reading something you've played already and I hope to have managed to keep things interesting. :D
> 
> I also hope to have managed to surprise you all with the last bit. Next couple of chapters will clarify things up for you all ;)
> 
> Now, 2 fun facts:  
> 1-I'll manage to end the game and after game in exact 15 chapters; just like in the game!  
> 2-I was checking the wiki page to see if there were any gossips about the characters and their roles in the upcoming game uploaded yet and found out Ruvik and I share a birthday (November 8) XP
> 
> See you all next time! :D  
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid
> 
> PS: Guys, I'm going to spend some days in Pairs during September and would love if anyone who lives or has visited the city could give me tips and suggestions of things to see/do there :D  
> Also, would anyone like to meet while I'm there? I know some people on the website like to meet when travelling and I'd like to know what you all think about it :)


	34. Chapter 34: Home Sweet Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I hope you all have been well for these past... couple of months. As usual I'm sorry about that. =.=
> 
> And THANK YOU for all who commented! :D
> 
> And EXTRA THANK YOU to TheBaffledBeef from deviantar who made an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G short comic for Ruvik and Sofia! I really recommend you guys check out their work. It's on my deviantart and tumblr. Here's the link for page 1: cy5000.deviantart.com/art/Roads-Traveled-comic-1-699400454
> 
> Now, without more delays, let's get to the chapter :D

_Oh god!_

_It can't be…_

_My patient._

_Did I pass out before prepping the patient for surgery? Mom will be so angry at me..._

* * *

"Sofia, do you know who I am?"

The doctor didn't have to say anything, her wide and confused eyes spoke more than words ever could.

"My name is Tatiana Gutierrez. Do you know where you are?"

Those wide orbs scanned her surroundings fast but thoroughly, moving up and down the white walls, large windows, potted plants and the machinery around her bed, beeping at the rhythm of her heartbeat. Finally, they settled on the woman sitting by her bedside.

"Raccoon City General Hospital?"

"Hmm... Why would you think that?"

The doctor furrowed her eyebrows, staring at Tatiana as if she was stupid for asking the question.

"Because I live in the city and work as a surgeon resident there. Though this room is quite different than the ones we have in the Infirmaries for surgical patients… Am I in the Infirmary for clinical patients?"

There was a tense silence in the room that extended for long enough to make Sofia quite uncomfortable.

"Miss Gutierrez?"

"… Sofia, what is the last thing you remember?"

"I remember that I needed to prep Timothy McCaughey for surgery. He was supposed to replace his mitral valve in a couple of hours." The doctor answered easily. "I presume I lost consciousness due to hypoglycaemia before doing that. I remember missing breakfast and lunch due to a surgery that got complicated. Actually, do you mind telling me the hours?"

Tatiana regarded the doctor for long moments, trying so hard to keep her face neutral and calm so she wouldn't scare Sofia. However, even if Sofia didn't remember, the psychiatrist inside her was still alive and she saw right away that the psychologist was startled by her answer.

"Miss Gutierrez, you're unsettling me." Sofia admitted, keeping her tone calm and making a conscious effort not to bite on her lower lip.

"Sofia, this question may sound stupid but... what date is today?"

The question did sound stupid to Sofia, but she guessed the psychologist was just following protocol so the doctor did her best not to feel unsettled by it and just answered the damn question.

"Today is February 13th of 2010."

With that answer, Tatiana excused herself and stood up from her chair to walk out of the room for a couple of minutes. When she returned, she had a tablet in her hands.

"This is today's online newspaper." Tatiana spoke calmly as she opened the application in the tablet and offered it to Sofia. "I want you to look at the date in it. And please-"

Sofia took the tablet from her hands quickly. Her eyes settled immediately on the  **10/14/2014**  displayed and when they did, her hands started trembling and her jaw hit the floor.

"-know that you'll be just fine."

* * *

Sofia didn't feel fine.

Despite the many hours that Tatiana spent with her, explaining with as much details as possible what had happened to her in the last four years and why she had lost her memories and telling her time and time again that everything would be alright and she would receive the best possible care, the doctor didn't feel reassured in the slightest.

It was hard to, when one moment you were an aspiring surgeon living with your strict parents, and the next you were a renowned psychiatrist and researcher living alone in a city 300km away from home. She couldn't begin to understand how her life had changed so much and walked so far from the path her parents had set for her.

She felt... cheated.

In the last four years she had managed to break free from her parents' control, work with Dr Jimenez, one of the most important researchers of her time, and take the position as one of the leading scientists of Mobius, which according to the tablet in her hands was the most important organization to contribute to scientific knowledge in current times. And she. Didn't.  _Remember_.

It just wasn't fair. She progressed so much in only four years and now everything was gone from her brain just because she had received a blow to the head?

If Sofia ever found the group of terrorists that had performed the Beacon Massacre, she'd end them herself.

She had followed her dream of quitting surgery altogether – although being a psychiatrist still didn't seem something she'd ever desire – and becoming an expert researcher. She left her parents' home, became independent in every conceivable way...

She had fulfilled her life-goals, but it didn't feel like it.

If she didn't remember the struggle, how could she claim the benefits for herself? How could she perform her work as a psychiatrist and researcher if she only remembered ever being a surgeon?

She couldn't. Sofia would have to learn everything again, learn  _who she was._

And she'd have to do it by herself. She lived alone now.

_Guess that leaving your parents' home isn't only good things._

Sofia sighed as her gaze fell to her hands in her lap, particularly her left, bandaged one. Slowly she raised them to her eyes and started to unwrap the gauze around the appendage, revealing bit by bit the scarred skin there. It was all red with blotches of yellow and secreting a clear liquid. It was so-

"You shouldn't do that, Sofia."

The woman startled, turning wide eyes to the door of her room. Standing there was a tall man, smiling at her in a reassuring manner.

"Who are you?"

"I'm one of Mobius' administrators." The man spoke, all charm and tranquillity, as he strut into the room. "I was the one overlooking your research with us, your boss. But I like to think we were more than just employer and employee."

Not moving her eyes from the man as he pulled a chair close to her bed and sat down, Sofia furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that we were friends.  _Close_  friends."

The doctor startled again when the man's large hands gently closed around her unscarred hand. His eyes were fixed on hers, intense and intelligent.

"How are you doing, my dear?"

Sofia was tense as she stared back at him, not feeling at all comfortable with the liberties this man she didn't know was taking with her but at the same time craving his reassuring touch. This man was powerful and confident, and his presence alone somehow made her feel safer.

"I don't know." The doctor admitted. "It's difficult to accept everything I've been told and seen. I don't know how to feel about it."

"I can't even imagine what you're going through." The man said, full of empathy. "But I want you to know that we'll do everything in our power to ensure you have every chance of recovering as much of your memories as possible."

"Who is we?"

"Mobius. Tatiana.  _Me_. I'm here for you, as I've always been."

"And who exactly  _are_  you?" Sofia demanded, feeling frustrated at how intimate this man made their relationship seem when she didn't as much as remember his name. "I don't even know how to call you."

"People refer to me as Director."

"I called you by your title?" Sofia questioned. "Are you sure we were friends?"

The man smiled amicably. "I am. Unfortunately my position demands that I prioritize privacy. Safety measures, you understand. But that didn't mean I didn't trust you or care about you. And that's why I've brought someone to see you, a couple of familiar faces."

Sofia furrowed her eyebrows and the Director took that as incentive to continue.

"I hope you don't get angry at me because of it but I've talked to your parents, Sofia. When Tatiana told me you were suffering from memory loss I took the liberty to go to their home and explain the situation and they've agreed to come with me to visit you, alongside your brother. They are waiting just outside this door to see you."

The woman's eyes doubled their size and her jaw dropped in shock. She tried to respond but only half words left her lips; she didn't know where to begin. Her parents dropped everything in their precious hospital for her? They  _wanted_  to see her after she quit their plans for her?  _She had a brother?_

"Sofia dear, may I call them in?"

Still unable to speak, the woman nodded her head once, slowly.

The administrator smiled to her and stood up from his chair to open the door once again.

Dona Prieto ran through that open door with a desperation Sofia would never think her mother capable of and embraced her daughter. It was all too sudden and unexpected so the doctor couldn't be sure, but she thought she had seen tears in her mother's eyes.

"Mother?"

The older woman tightened her hold on her child and sobbed by her ear.

"Sofia, my Sofia. You're alive. You're well. Oh thank you God, thank you, thank you. I'm sorry, so so so sorry. My baby. I thought I had lost you. Oh God."

The young woman didn't know how to react at such display. In all her life she had never seen her mother so scared and vulnerable. It was heart-breaking and heart-warming at the same time.

Not knowing what else she could do, Sofia hugged her mother.

There tears in her eyes as well. And a smile on her face.

* * *

"You're going to let her go, then? Really?"

"Naturally. Did you wish for me to chain her in that hospital bed, Tatiana?"

"Of course not, Director. But you  _could've_ done so and without Ruvik or Leslie – or even Jimenez – in our hands I believed you'd do whatever it took to keep Sofia in our research team."

"I would and I  _am_. Currently, Dr Prieto is the most valuable person for the STEM project. However the woman that was returned to us from that place is not  _her_. Our dear Sofia is no more; her brain was damaged beyond repair, memories lost forever. And in those memories was her knowledge about STEM and without it she is of no use for us.  _Yet._ "

"I see. Sofia walked into our path once, lusting for knowledge and freedom from her parents. As she is now, those are no longer her priorities. She's scared and confused, needing comfort and safety and only her parents can provide it for her at the moment because they are all she remembers. But in a year or two, after she has recovered from all this trauma, she'll once again desire the things that only we can provide and we'll be here to give it to her. Sofia will come back to us on her own volition. Or not at all because if we were to force her into our ranks-"

"She'd quickly become a very risky investment. Trying to either run away or destroy us, and with a mind like hers... We can't have that. We  _need_  her to trust us if we wish for results."

"And in the meanwhile?"

"Business as usual. We'll focus on other projects while we look for new prospects to lead our research on STEM."

"I meant regarding Sofia. We'll just lose contact?"

"Of course not. Every now and then I have business that requires my attention in Raccoon City so it'd be no trouble for me to drop by her parents' home and talk with Sofia, try to incite her to come back to us quicker. Also…"

"Yes?"

"We'll have people watching her 24/7."

"Ruvik?"

"Yes. He's on the loose and Sofia will undoubtedly be his top priority once he settles in his new body. We must be ready for when he makes his move. If we play our cards right, we might not only recover Sofia, but also Ruvik and Leslie's body."

"That is true."

No words were spoken after that as both Tatiana and the Administrator watched the security footage of the hospital's front doors. Sofia –  _their_  Sofia;  _not Ruvik's_  – was walking out of the hospital hand-in-hand with her almost three year old brother, following their parents to the parking lot.

She was going home.

* * *

Home, for the first time ever in the memory that remained in Sofia's brain, felt like... well,  _home_.

Her parents were talking to her,  _with_  her. They listened to what she had to say and responded, not  _demanded_  or  _imposed_ ; they just… talked, about so many things.

They talked about the years she didn't remember, helping her piece together a couple of the hundreds of the missing puzzle pieces within her mind. They showed her all the articles she published and the news they saved from her time in Beacon and Mobius, and Sofia looked at everything with wide and tear-filled eyes.

"You… kept all of this? You read my things, even after I left home? After I gave up on Surgery?"

Then, it was her mother's turn to cry as both her parents hugged her and apologized. For not keeping in touch, for letting her go as they had, for forcing her into the surgery internship and for all the pressure they put on her ever since her childhood.

"We missed you, Sofia. We missed you so much. But how could we dare to contact you again? After everything we did... we couldn't. You still tried to reach out to us but we were too proud to respond. We were so certain you'd come back to us, but you didn't. And you succeeded so beautifully on your own. Your job, your research and your articles… You got a high position in Mobius! Our arrogant pride soon turned into real, parental pride and with it came the loneliness of losing you. And the shame. I regret so much how we just let you go. And when we received Gutierrez's call about the terrorist attack that happened in Beacon... We thought we had lost you, Sofia! Lost you without ever fighting for you and it almost killed me. I'm so sorry, my child. Please forgive your stupid and prideful parents."

Sofia didn't remember ever crying as hard as she did that day. Nor did she remember ever seeing her parents cry, but it all happened, at the same time.

* * *

And then there was Julian. Her brown-eyed, beautiful, brilliant baby brother; not even three years old and already counting numbers and drawing stick figures. Sofia's heart just filled up to the brim with warmth whenever she picked Julian up. She loved babysitting her brother when her parents were working. He even helped her prepare dinner; no one arranged a plate of fruits like Julin. Under the safety of her watchful gaze, of course.

* * *

"Sofeeeea!" Julian called, running towards her in that clumsy and adorable gait little children have. He was waving a sheet of paper in his little fist. "I make you! And mama, and papa, and me!"

The young woman pushed her chair slightly away from the table and pulled her baby brother to her lap.

"Well, let me see this." She said with a smile, pulling the paper sheet up to her gaze. "Wow! It's so pretty! And accurate too. Loved how green mom's eyes are."

"What you do?" Julian asked, quickly forgetting his own creation and focusing his brown eyes on the bright screen of his big sis' laptop. "What this?"

"This? This is a book I'm writing." Sofia explained, carefully laying the drawing on top of the table by her computer.

"Humpty Dumpty!"

"Yes, but not quite. Can you read the title for me? It's the one with the big letters."

"Ahmmm… P! P! And… S! And A?"

"Brilliant boy!" Sofia complimented, hugging the little ball of warmth to her just a little tighter and smelling the delicious smell of JonJon's Baby shampoo on his black locks. "Want to know what all the letters spell?"

"Yes!"

"It says Psycho Break."

"Psyyyycho Brak?"

"Break."

"Brrrreak."

"You're right, love." Sofia said with a smile, watching Julian's hand touch the words on the screen, leaving his tiny fingerprints there. It was all- "Absolutely right."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we have a bit of family warmth to compensate for all the heavy stuff we've seen in this fic from beginning to end. I do love writing family moments, and I was just dying to get Julian in this! :D
> 
> But we still have one more chapter left before this ends; naturally, I wasn't going to leave this with such perfect closure. And we still have some loose ends to deal with, especially with the new info on TEW 2 that is coming out. ;)
> 
> Btw, how are you all feeling about the game from what we know? I know some people really disliked how impersonal the first TEW was but I really liked the fact that we didn't go so deep into Seb's character. I mean, he found himself in a crazy psycho's wonderland; I'd be more worried about finding matches than my own past too. XD
> 
> What I'm saying is: the first game made sense to me. It gave us enough that we'd understand the STEM and Ruvik's origins as well as get a good grasp of Sebastian's past trauma without trying too hard. And I'm a bit scared that the second game might try too hard to make up for this lack of involvement with these new characters. Stefano sounds like a creepy villain, but it'll take some effort to sell the fact that he nows owns STEM and that Lily is the new Leslie. XP
> 
> Well, ranting aside, I really hope you all enjoyed this cute chapter! Please tell me what you think of Sofia's reunion with her family. :D
> 
> Next chapter is the last one, guys! Stay tuned! ;D
> 
> Kisses,  
> RedVoid


	35. Chapter 35: Ouroboros

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS! I'm so sorry! I've had this chapter kind of ready for two weeks now, but I haven't had the time to proof-read it. I've been super busy with college and other stuff. T.T
> 
> Honestly, I can't believe it's been more than two years since I've posted the first chapter of tthis fic. I remember not even knowing exactly where I was going with this and asking myself if I should kill off Sofia before the game timeline so I wouldn't tangle myself in a super long story. Even though I was kind of excited to write the game part too. XD
> 
> The support you guys showed me was super important to keep me going with this, even when more than two years had passed after I've first played the game. As it happens with all long fics there were times I really didn't want to write anymore and it was your reviews that gave me the courage to sit my ass down in front of my PC and write. :)
> 
> I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for sticking with me so far! It was wonderful for me to shar Sofia's adventure with you guys and I hope you all enjoy this chapter, even though I know some of you might hate me for what I'm about to do here. =.=
> 
> Now, (sadly) I haven't played TEW2 yet because I'm waiting (hoping) for a Halloween sale in the brazilian PS store to buy the game. But I did watch the intro on youtube because I needed to have at least a little bit of info about it for what I had planned. So, for those out there who are waiting for TEW2's price to go down a bit, just go and watch the first 15 minutes of TEW2 on youtube and you'll be fine for the chapter. :)
> 
> Also, since I haven't played the game yet, I believe I migt've gotten some (if not all) things wrong regarding Kidman, Mobius and the new STEM system and for that I'm sorry. I thought about watching the gameplay on youtube but didn't manage to spoil such a wonderful game for myself. I need to play it nothing the least information possible. XPXP
> 
> And I think that's it for now.
> 
> Thank you all for your continued support throughout this fic! It's sad to watch this story end, but I'm hopeful it won't feel too much like a goodbye. :)
> 
> I hope you all had a good time with me, because I had a great time with you! S2
> 
> Kisses and lots of love, and Happy Halloween!  
> RedVoid
> 
>  
> 
> Weep not for roads untraveled  
> Weep not for paths left alone  
> 'Cause beyond every bend  
> Is a long blinding end  
> It's the worst kind of pain  
> I've known
> 
> Roads Traveled - Linkin Park

_"You're going to let her go, then? Really?"_

_"Naturally. Did you wish for me to chain her in that hospital bed, Tatiana?"_

_"Of course not, Director. But you could've done so and without Ruvik or Leslie – or even Jimenez – in our hands I believed you'd do whatever it took to keep Sofia in our research team."_

_(...)_

_Both Tatiana and the Administrator watched the security footage of the hospital's front doors. Sofia – their Sofia; not Ruvik's – was walking out of the hospital hand-in-hand with her almost three year old brother, following their parents to the parking lot._

_She was going home._

* * *

 

_Three years later._

"Juli, hello! Please, come in. I'm sorry about the mess; my parents are in Austria for a congress and left Julian here with me for some days."

The Mobius agent smiled and walked inside Sofia's large apartment. The wide living room was barely even disorganized; the only signs of a child's presence were the complex Lego structures - a pirate ship and the BB-8 droid - neatly mounted over the rug and the video game console in front of the wide screen. And, of course, the black haired six-year old playing with said console. His brown eyes were wide and attentive, glued to the large screen as his fingers moved with remarkable speed over the controller.

"Nonsense. Your home is lovely as always Sofia." Juli complimented with a smile, before waving at the entrapped boy. "Hello, Julian. How are you?"

The child didn't respond at first, making Sofia sigh and roll her eyes. "Julian!"

That firm tone managed to break the spell the video game held over him and the boy quickly paused.

"Yes, sorry Sofia. Tough level." He apologized quickly, turning his eyes – such an intelligent brown - to his sister and only then noticing Juli's presence. "Oh, Miss Kidman. Hello. I hope you've been well?"

Julian made an impression on Juli every time he stared at her; the boy had a sharpness to his gaze that she had only ever seen once before, in a pair of cruel silver eyes. However the similarities stopped there. Those brown hues were much too full of reciprocated love to ever become anything close to Ruvik's mad stare.

"I've been well, Julian. What about you?"

"Good, good." The boy answered, sparing a brief twitch of his lips that almost resembled a smile to the agent, before returning his gaze to his sister. "Can I go back to my game now? I really think I can beat this level this time. You know what they say; three is a charm."

Sofia rolled her eyes once again. "Fine. But you only have 30 more minutes of video games left; if you're not done by then you can try again tomorrow."

"Understood."

Just like that, the boy resumed his game, forgetting everything about the women in the room.

"Come on." Sofia said with a smile. "Let's go to the veranda. It's a nice sunset outside and I've got a jar of mojito waiting for us there."

Juli needed no more convincing.

* * *

 

"Sorry about relocating our plans like that. I know we arranged this weeks ago but my parents called me Wednesday, really needing someone to babysit Julian and I couldn't just say no. They were rather looking forward to the congress."

"Don't worry, Sofia. I'm just glad we have the chance to catch up." Juli reassured, taking a generous sip of her mojito. "How long will Julian be staying?"

"One week. I've already rescheduled my appointments for the next couple of days, but I have some very sensitive patients Thursday and Friday that I really can't afford not to meet with..."

"You already got a nanny for these days?"

"No but the Director mentioned I could use Mobius' day-care service, even though Julian isn't my son nor is he officially under my care. I never did check the place though. Do you know if it's good?"

Juli felt something cold catch in her throat and it was not the mojito she had just swallowed. The idea of Julian anywhere near Mobius and the Director did not sit well with her; brilliant and perceptive as he was, the boy was bound to draw unwanted attention and she was already driving herself crazy, trying to find a way to save Sebastian's daughter from them. If she allowed Sofia's brother to follow the same fate as Lily... Juli didn't think she'd be able to live with herself.

"I think there are too many babysitting services here in Krimson City for you to expose Julian to a bunch of kids full of germs."

"Well, he's already six. Not to mention it's good for his immune system to-"

"Sofia." The agent cut in, something close to despair trying to find its way in her voice. "He's your little brother, you're allowed to spoil his immune system a little bit. Hire a nanny, let him play his games a little more for a couple of days. You know he doesn't like strangers much; he'd be very uncomfortable there."

"I know." Sofia said with a sigh and took a large sip of her drink. "But that worries me sometimes. He should socialize more with other kids. I know he's intellectually above the average-"

"Very above the average."

"-but it's important for his development to interact with children his age, no matter how boring he finds them. Social skills are just as important as intellectual skills and Julian... well, he's not very good at making friends."

"And you think that introducing him to a bunch of kids he'll most likely not ever see again is the best way to change that?"

"No. But it could prove a useful first step."

"Sofia… You're dealing with this as if Julian was one of your patients. He's your little brother. As a sister, what would you prefer to do?"

"…Keep him home. He gets very anxious when meeting new people. It was so difficult when he started going to school; he suffered a lot with it."

"Then you're settled." Juli spoke with conviction. "I can help you find someone to watch over him. Hell, if no nanny pleases you I can even watch him Thursday and Friday."

Sofia's eyes widened. "I couldn't possibly-"

"I'm sure the Director wouldn't mind giving me a couple of days off. After all, you're seeing a couple of our people on both of those days aren't you?"

"Juli, you know I can't-"

"Doctor-patient privilege, I know. But I'm one of the people who guided them through STEM during their mission months ago and they still report to me on their progress."

Juli knew it was a sensitive topic, but still she couldn't help but be amazed at how suddenly Sofia's eyes narrowed at the mention of that mission.

"About that. I hope you're not planning on sending anymore agents into STEM anytime soon. I still have some updates I want to work on before it's ready for further testing and I'm not sure how long it'll take me to finish them. I don't know why but the software is becoming very unstable lately; I fear a virus might've found its way inside the computer mainframe. It's…"

Kidman felt a chill run down her spine at Sofia's sudden silence. It was unsettling to see the doctor so worried about STEM.

It had been less than a year since the Director had managed to convince Sofia to become part of the STEM research team again but she was already at the top of her game when it came to improving its function. Even if she worked under the illusion that the Core was a computer program through and through.

Kidman couldn't blame her for her ignorance though; the Director was astoundingly careful when it came to revealing the truth about STEM. Even herself had believed there was no human host after the Ruvik incident three years ago. It wasn't until little more than one year ago that the truth had finally been revealed to her, under the form of a lonely 11-years-old little girl that needed rescuing.

"It's what, Sofia?" Kidman prodded. She needed to know everything if she was to send Sebastian back into that hell.

The doctor was serious when she stared into Juli's eyes and the agent thought she was looking back at the Sofia of three years ago, heartbroken and battle-worn.

"It's as if the Core is collapsing. I keep updating it with bug-fixes but it's still not enough. That last mission into STEM was supposed to be regular maintenance work and both agents returned with severe psychological trauma. God… What have I done?"

"Sofia, this is not your fault. They were soldiers. They knew the risks when they entered STEM."

"Did they?" The doctor almost snapped. "Nothing like that had ever happened before, Juli. The risks had always been hypothetical. Can you honestly say they fully comprehended the risks when they never truly believed something like that could ever happen?"

Juli had no answer to that. Until that failed mission weeks ago, no one in Mobius believed something like that could ever happen again. Ruvik was gone and they had a new, more stable Core for the machine. They were supposed to be  _safe_.

_But if a little girl isn't safe, why should we ever be?_

"We need to rethink our approach when it comes to STEM. As I've said, I'm working on new upgrades for the Core but I fear it might not be enough." Sofia continued, dropping her shoulders heavily on her back rest as she stared at the city lights bellow them. "My upgrades are not functioning as they should. Some might work better if they are manually activated inside STEM, but there's no way in hell I'll give clearance to any more missions before understanding just what the hell is going on there. The things the agents are telling me… Juli, you wouldn't believe the horrors they've seen connected to that machine."

_I would._

"Union was supposed to be a place of calm and beauty, not of death. I need to understand where it all is coming from… I need to find out what is wrong… I  _will_."

Juli gulped at the sheer determination in Sofia's eyes. It was fascinating to witness first-hand the feelings that had once turned a simple Psychiatrist into one of the most valuable chess pieces in Mobius' little game. And she was a strange piece, not black or white but  _grey_. Much like herself, Kidman believed. Both wanted to do good, even if for that they'd have to get their hands dirty.

And the agent feared Sofia was quickly approaching that crossing line once again. Even with all of the Director's precautions, it was a matter of time before the doctor became suspicious once again and once she did… there would be no keeping the truth from her.

_Maybe that's good. She could help Sebastian-_

"Sofeeeeeea."

Both women jumped slightly at the high-pitched voice coming from the veranda's open sliding door. There was Julian, in his Steven Universe pyjamas, staring at his sister with big eyes. He spared one quick glance at Juli before walking to Sofia and hugging her midriff.

"My videogame time is up." The boy stated simply. "And I'm hungry."

Juli watched the smile that stretched on Sofia's face as she asked her little brother what he'd like to have for dinner and felt her heart clench in her chest. How could she risk getting Sofia involved in yet another life-threatening situation? Wasn't enough that she watched the Director worm his way back into Sofia's life and drag her to Mobius once again without doing anything to prevent it?

The doctor had been living such a nice life. While she wrote her Sci-Fi book 'Psycho Break' – which was a small hit at the time – Sofia had decided to apply to Raccoon City General Hospital's Psychiatry residency program, so she could understand and learn what about the profession had drawn her away from the academic field all those years ago and, once again, she fell in love with her work. This time around she hadn't even involved herself with research, choosing to focus solely on her clinical practice.

And the Director had shown  _so much_  support. He and Tatiana visited Sofia almost monthly during her first year of recovery, before Juli found a way to be included in those visits.

The agent did her best to connect with the doctor as a fellow survivor of the Beacon terrorist attack )as the newspapers said) and, as such, managed to reduce their influence over her. It wasn't much, but Kidman could safely say that Sofia would follow her opinion over Tatiana or the Director's, and on multiple occasion that kept her from getting in bed with Mobius.

However, once her residency was over the Director made her an offer Sofia just couldn't refuse.

* * *

 

" _How about moving to Krimson City? We could use a capable Psychiatrist to provide support to our workers and the hours would be rather light. You'd have plenty of time to dedicate to your own private practice or maybe even do some research. There are so many opportunities in the city Sofia, and you'd already have a support system with me, Tatiana and Juli there."_

* * *

 

It took weeks of her being in Krimson City but the Director finally managed to introduce her to the STEM system again, despite Juli subliminal negative reinforcement.

The hours she spent in Mobius, available for any of the company's employees who needed psychological support were being drastically underused – something Juli suspected was more due to the Director redirecting any possible patients to other psychiatrists and psychologists than an actual lack of demand – leading Sofia to finally accept the Director's tour around their R&D department. More specifically, to their STEM facilities.

And the researcher in Sofia woke with a passion, just like the doctor had done a couple of years before. She read all the material she was provided and quickly got acquainted with the workings of the machine. Soon enough she had become one of the lead-researchers in the project.

Juli didn't like it, but she was grateful that, this time around, it seemed no deaths were tainting Sofia's hands. She was a good woman; she didn't deserve to be involved in somethign so dar once again.

But then she found out about Lily being the Core and that gratitued became nothing more than dust in the wind.

_Mobius could never be a blood-free environment. Not even if they tried._

"-li! Juli!"

The agent startled once again, coming back from her musings to find Sofia and Julian staring at her.

"I'm sorry. What were you saying?" Juli spoke with a smile.

Sofia chuckled. "Does Fettucine Alfredo sound good for dinner?"

"Of course. I'll help y-"

"No." Julian put in firmly. He sounded just like his sister. " _I_ 'll help."

Juli couldn't help but laugh at the boy and for a moment, the agent allowed herself to push her worries away. She'd decide what to do about Sofia and Julian, and Lily and Sebastian later. Right now she had a special dinner to enjoy.

* * *

 

_Two weeks later._

"Victor, isn't it? It's a pleasure to meet you."

Sofia smiled and shook the new patient's hand before motioning for him to sit on the couch across from her. Between them there was a coffee table and behind her was her office's door.

"Can I offer you anything? We have tea, coffee, some biscuits…"

The patient smiled at her as he denied her offer and the doctor couldn't help but find the expression crooked. It was as if he was enjoying some sort of private joke.

"Then, please, tell me a bit about yourself."

His smile widened just enough to be unsettling and Sofia felt like he was teasing her but still she smiled back. This patient was a strange one, but that was how she liked them.

"My name is Victor Rosa. I may not look like it but I'm 40 years old. I come from a rich and broken family." He paused then, losing some of his smile as he stared at her with a burning sort of intensity in his pale blue eyes.

Sofia felt a spike of pain in her left hand.

"And I'm here because of the woman I love."

* * *

 

Sofia returned home feeling cold despite the fact that it was just the beginning of Autumn. That session with Victor was both one of the most chilling and exciting experiences of her life.

_That man… there's something about him._

It wasn't uncommon for Sofia to leave her private practice feeling something indescribable about her patients. In many cases, it wasn't until their Nth session that she could confidently say she had a good grasp on them as a whole, and even then her diagnosis were always open to change. Mental health was dynamic and she would have to be a fool to chain herself to one simple diagnosis forever.

But she felt something different with Victor. She felt like she did know him, but just couldn't remember.

_Maybe he's someone from the years I've lost? It would explain why the whole session seemed so amusing to him. He could be just be playing a practical joke on me before revealing himself. Still, I should ask Juli and Tatiana if there was a Victor Rosa in my life._

With that settled, she turned on her computer, leaving it alone to boot while she went into her bathroom to take a quick shower. She wanted to review the latest coding for the bug-fixes she had written for Union.

* * *

 

Sofia was in her bathroom robe and still partially wet when there was a soft knocking on her door.

The doctor narrowed her eyes and checked the clock at the screen of her computer, noting with distaste it was already past 22:00. Who'd visit her at such hour on a Tuesday?

"Sofia, please." Juli's voice came from the other side of the door. "I need your help."

The doctor was quick to answer her door then; the pleading timbre on Juli's voice unsettled her deeply; it took a lot to make the veteran agent of Mobius show any sort of vulnerability.

"Thank you." Juli said as she entered the apartment with two heavy folders under her arms. She took a look around and at noticing the computer turned on quickly moved to shut it down. "I'm sorry about the hour. I know it's late but I really need to talk to you."

"Don't worry." The doctor reassured. "Please, sit down. Would you like something?"

"Water, please." Juli answered but she did not sit down. Instead, she paced from side to side in her living room.

Sofia retrieved a clean glass from her cupboard and filled it with tap water, handing it to Juli without a word. She drained the glass before handing it back to Sofia.

"Thank you."

"It's alright. Now would you please sit down? I see you have something important to say to me and I think neither of us should be standing while you talk."

"Right." The agent agreed, finally dropping her body on the sofa. She took a deep breath to recompose herself before settling her eyes intently on Sofia. "What I'm about to show you… It's unsettling. Confidential material from Mobius regarding STEM, something only a handful of people know about. Something the Director kept from you for a long time."

"Then-" Sofia began, voice calm and expression open. "-why do you think I should see it now?"

"Because STEM's decay is speeding up alarmingly and we need you. We need your help with you at the top of your game and not with only half of the facts."

With that, Juli handed both folders to Sofia, who took them without hesitation.

CONFIDENTIAL: SEBASTIAN CASTELLANOS

CONFIDENTIAL: LILY CASTELLANOS

"Please, read both of these files carefully. I'll wait until you're done to answer your questions."

Sofia stared at the files for long moments before she stood up from the sofa.

"If you don't mind. I'll read them in my office."

* * *

 

Sofia's expression was sombre as she stared at the many papers scattered over her desk. The things they revealed her… She didn't want to believe them. And yet, how could she not, when such proof was staring her in the face like that?

_If they're doing such a thing with a little girl, even now after so many years of research… what did they do before? How many Lilys were there? And… did I know about it?_

Sofia felt nausea hit her like a train at these implications and had to run out of her office and into the bathroom to empty the contents of her stomach. She didn't know how long she was in there, draped over the toilet, when she felt Juli's hands gently comb her hair back and hold it away from the splash-zone.

"It's alright. You're fine."

The doctor hurled one last time before she was done with her vomiting, but she didn't raise herself from the toilet. Instead she remained on the floor, breathing heavily as tears streaked down her face.

"There's more, isn't there?" She demanded in a small voice. "Lily isn't the first victim of STEM, is she?"

"No."

"Did I… Did I know about it? When I worked for Mobius before? Was I part of the Ruvik project?"

"You were. And you're the reason the number of victims isn't half of what it could be. You did all in your power to protect people from STEM, Sofia."

"That's not enough!" The doctor yelled, suddenly straightening up. "I still let people die!"

"There was nothing you could've done. Mobius is far too powerful to be stopped; becoming part of the STEM project was the best you could've done for those people. You were one of the few in the project that actually cared about them."

Sofia stared with puffy and tear-filled eyes at the woman in front of her.

"I want to see my files."

Juli sighed and shook her head. "I don't have clearance to access your file. Only the Director and Tatiana can access it and you can't go to them for it. They're not trustworthy, Sofia."

"And you are? You knew of my past with STEM as much as them, didn't you?"

"Yes and no." The agent replied, standing up from the floor and pulling Sofia with her. "I've met you during the Beacon incident and researched about you afterwards, but we had never been friends before. Still, I couldn't let the Director and Tatiana be the only influences over you so I approached you under the pretence that I was working towards the same goal as them: bringing you back to Mobius. I started to relax once I saw they weren't directly involving you in anything…well-"

"Illegal? Inhumane? Cruel?"

"-Yes."

"What changed?" Sofia demanded, sparing Juli a glare before bowing her head to rinse her mouth on the sink.

"STEM is collapsing too quickly.  _Lily's mind_  is collapsing. We have little time to reverse the situation and for that we'll need all hands on deck. The Director found prudent to reveal the truth about STEM to you because he knew you wouldn't dare to turn your back on Lily. Was he wrong?"

The doctor spat the water and resumed to glare at the agent. "You know he wasn't. I'll do all I can to save her. What is the plan?"

Juli's eyes widened. "What-"

"Don't BS me, Juli. It's clear you have an immediate plan of action that involves more than telling me about Lily."

Of course she'd know. Sofia wasn't as much of a genius as Ruvik but she was far above average.

"Sebastian. We'll send him back inside STEM." The agent revealed. "We have located him and will make contact in three days time to send him back inside. He survived Ruvik and managed to find a way out without even knowing what it was. If anyone can find Lily inside Union, it would be him."

Sofia's eyes widened with rage and Juli knew she was counting down from ten inside her head to keep her cool at the moment.

"Do you remember what I told you about Union? It's collapsing on itself! I can't allow anyone to enter STEM before I find a way to stabilize it!"

"This ship has sailed, Sofia!" Juli shot back, feeling frustration start to get to her as well. "Do you think the Director has been idle while you work to keep people safe? A STEM mission is happening right now behind your back. He has already sent 5 more agents to try and manually activate your upgrades as well as find Lily! Our people are trapped in there, while Lily's mental status deteriorates by the day. Certainly you understand now that Union's instability isn't due to a virus but to Lily's own neuropsychological suffering. We have to act fast! And Sebastian-"

Juli suddenly stopped talking, taking a moment to breath in deeply and recompose herself.

"-He's a good man, Sofia. If you remembered him, how he took care of everyone inside STEM during the Beacon incident, you'd know that. He's lost his daughter once already and now that I found her I can't let him lose her again."

Sofia glared at Juli, her mirror and anything she could settle her eyes on as she reviewed everything she had learned in the last few minutes. Her hand was throbbing, she started to pace around her apartment and she was violently chewing on her bottom lip. The doctor didn't remember ever feeling such horrible anxiety, fear and rage before in her life; all she wanted to do was curl into a ball beneath her blankets and fall asleep so she could wake in the next day and pretend this was all a nightmare.

Minutes passed her by before the doctor finally stopped with her antics and dropped her body heavily on her living room's sofa. She felt exhausted as she fixed her eyes on Juli's one more time. She wanted to tell the agent to go screw herself, then go to the police and report Mobius, but she knew she wouldn't. She  _couldn't_. Not with a little girl's life hanging on the balance.

_God, what if it was Julian in there?_

Sofia could swear her heart stopped beating at the thought.

"What can I do to help?"

"Help me guide him inside STEM, use your updates to keep him as safe as possible and do all in your power to help stabilize Union. I'm not sure how much more Lily's mind can take of that place as it is."

The doctor breathed in deeply and nodded.

"I know three days isn't nearly enough to review everything but I need more information about this. Everything you've been keeping from me regarding Lily. I've been working under the premises that the Core was a computer program, so I'm sure many of my codes had to altered by people who knew of Lily's condition before being downloaded into STEM. Now that I know I'm working with a child's brain… It changes a lot. Also, I need everything you have on the Ruvik project. I imagine Ruvik was also the result of someone's brain being used as a Core, much like Union is?"

There was no missing the tension in Juli's shoulders when Sofia mentioned the name Ruvik but the doctor decided not to dig further on matters at the present moment. There was already too much for her to digest and she'd have Ruvik's files soon enough; she'd be able to draw her own conclusions then.

"The files are already separated and organized for you." The agent stated at last, clearly unhappy.  _But only the mechanical aspects. Ruben is not someone you need to remember._ "There will be a lab in Mobius ready for your usage tomorrow, with a team of people ready to guide you and help you absorb the new information as quickly as possible."

"Good, good." The doctor breathed out, glancing at the clock by her TV. It was already past 2AM. "Will you be spending the night?"

"No. I should give you time to process all of this and I'm sure you'll want to check those files again with more time in your hands. I'll see you at Mobius tomorrow – well, today actually – right?"

"Of course." Sofia agreed. "If all of this is true I can't afford to lose any time. I'll review these files and take a shower, but I should be in the headquarters in a few hours to start studying. It seems this Friday 13th will live up to its name as the day of bad luck."

"Sofia-"

" _What._ "

Juli almost flinched at the venom in the doctor's voice. She knew Sofia was as close as she'd ever be to throttling her and immediately knew that the doctor would never trust her again.

"-Thank you. And I'm so sorry."

"Apologies hold no meaning now. Just leave please."

"I… Of course." The agent said mechanically, drawing up her cool façade as she stood up from the sofa. "Please, call me if you need anything."

"I'm fine."

* * *

 

Alone in her kitchen, Sofia started her coffee machine. She knew that there would be no sleep for her now. Or for next days.

As she prepared her coffee, her hand throbbed once again and it reminded Sofia of her unsettling patient of the afternoon: Victor Rosa. She had forgotten to ask Juli about him.

_No time to think about that now._

Still, she remembered the intense glint in his sharp eyes and felt a not-so-unpleasant chill ran down her spine. Her scarred hand was tingling.

_He'll be back. For better or for worse._

* * *

 

When she saw Sebastian Castellanos being dragged inside STEM's room tied to a wheelchair, Sofia felt her hand and her heart spike in pain. She remembered absolutely nothing of the man but a part of her still recognized him as a good person, someone worthy protecting. Someone worthy destroying STEM for.

Still, she tried not to let it show as the Director made his little speech; the man wouldn't approve of any signs of mutiny. And, if he had sacrificed a little girl for his ambitions, she could only imagine what he'd do to Sebastian and herself if he got wind of her willingness to exchange STEM for his and Lily's well-being.

Calm and with calculated politeness, the doctor walked to the man, who stared at her as if she was some sort of apparition.

"Doc?"

"You must be Sebastian." She spoke softly, giving him what she hoped was a reassuring smile, as she did with her patients. "My name is Sofia Prieto, though you might know this already. It's my understanding we met during the Beacon incident but I'm sorry to say I don't remember it. My memories of the incident and the four years prior to it were lost."

"Then why are-"

"I've been informed about Lily being the Core. I'm here to help guide you through STEM, as well as provide you the best tools for survival and try to stabilize Union for as long as possible. I'm afraid I've only found out about this a couple of days ago, so my performance might not be perfect, but I promise to do my absolute best to help you save your daughter."

There was anger in the detective's eyes at her calmness and the doctor felt good at being in the receiving end of his hate. His daughter was being used as some sort of experiment by the organization she had been working for. She  _deserved_  his rage.

"I think we can release him, right?" Sofia demanded, sparing the Director a cold, unfeeling glance.

The man sighed at the way she looked at him but nodded his agreement nonetheless and without a word Sofia kneeled in front of Sebastian's wheelchair.

"I'll make sure you and your daughter gets out of there alive." Sofia whispered, low enough so only he could hear her, and moved to free his other hand. "No matter what I need to do, I'll help you both. I promise."

Just for a second, Sofia allowed herself to stare deeply in Sebastian's wide eyes and she tried, the best she could, to show him how true her words were and how loyal she was to him and him alone.

She didn't remember, but she knew he had saved her three years ago and now she'd return the favour.

"Think about this, Mr Castellanos-" The Director suddenly resumed speaking, strutting towards Sebastian, Juli and her. "- _I_  am providing you an opportunity, not only to see your daughter again, but to save her life. Something you thought you'd failed to do before. You can save her, or let her die-"

Sofia and Sebastian stared at each other, and both knew they were feeling the same urge to spit on the tall man's face.

"-It's your choice."


End file.
